A lovely start to the day, with tumbled piles of white cloud, hanging motionless in a surprisingly blue sky.
Around the Park, signs of spring are starting to appear and birdsong is growing in volume and variety. The ‘schwee’ of Greenfinches is especially noticeable this morning, with several holding forth from the hedge alongside the Wildlife Area. Nearby, a Bullfinch perches among the branches of an Elder, as a Great Tit wheezes out it’s strident ‘teacher-teacher’ call.
Much more melodic, the fluid notes of a Skylark ring out above the meadows, with Robins, Wrens and Blue Tits also heard, along with the shrieks of a Jay and the ‘cronk’ of a Raven above Long Meadow.
Among the tumble of rocks at Tilly Whim, a flash of rusty red, as a Black Redstart dives for cover. Little, dappled Rock Pipits dart around along the clifftop, with Guillemots packed onto the ledges below. Fulmars, Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Shags are also on the wing, with a Peregrine Falcon perched, still and statuesque on the rocks below the Observation Point.
The woodlands around the Park are becoming greener by the day, as buds appear on trees and a carpet of new leaves spreads across the woodland floor. The leaves of Lords and Ladies, Cow Parsley, Three-cornered Leek and Dog Violet can all be found in abundance.
One of my favourite flowers, Lesser Celandine is starting to bloom, looking to me like a child’s drawing of a sun! In the words of William Wordsworth:
"There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine
That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;
And, the first moment that the sun may shine,
Bright as the sun himself. ‘tis out again!”
Perhaps not his best work, but biologically accurate, as Lesser Celandine folds away it’s petals when the sun goes in.