After the wonderfully clear star filled skies last night, under which a Fox was howling, this morning dawned bright and sunny.
Off to the clifftops for me to look at the state of the paths and the drains after the weekend – no puddles and not too many washed out sections.
While there, the sound of Guillemots growling and arguing could be heard wafting up from the cliffs and the water. The birds perched on the ledge were mostly facing outwards, their white chests showing, while on the sea a group of 40 growled and bickered. Not a single Razorbill to be seen however.
The Gorse was giving off its delicate coconut smell, the yellow flowers the dominant flower at the moment. Perched on the prickly branch was a Robin, ticking and nearby another spurting out song parts.
The weaker song of a Dunnock was coming from the fronds of the Old Man’s Beard, being repeated by another from the Hawthorn behind me.
At Tilly Whim a Rock Pipit was ascending and descending in a flutter, while a Great Tit was displaying around the old metal London bollard.
A sudden rush of air and noise and a fly past of Feral Pigeons broke the peace, this was followed by the loud cackling and chuckling of the Jackdaws, 20 of which were perched on virtually every other ‘cock’ of the ‘cock and hen’ capping along the wall.
Into the gully and the wheeze of a Greenfinch caught the ear, the flash of its green-yellow wing feather reflecting in the sunlight as it perched in the top branches of a Sycamore.
Returning to the Learning Centre, two hen Pheasants emerged with a great flapping of wings from the long grass then glided out onto the wet meadows.
In the Ash, the sight and sound of the House Sparrows added to the interest and enjoyment of the morning’s patrol.