A lovely spring morning, though a chilly south-westerly breeze is a reminder that winter still has a sting in the tail!
Overhead, patches of bright blue sky are dappled with high cloud. As I walk up the hill, a few Pied Wagtails pass overhead – their calls cutting through the breeze.
Another Pied Wagtail struts across Lighthouse Green, as Meadow Pipits and a Linnet also pass through, as spring migration starts to get underway.
Several large ‘charms’ of Goldfinch also seen – filling the air with their lovely jangling calls, their crimson and gold plumage looking fantastic in the spring sunshine.
Birdsong is also starting to grow in both volume and variety. It’s hard to find a spot on the Park where the ‘squeaky bike pump’ call of Great Tits can’t be heard! More melodic, the insistent song of Robins, the repeated melodies of Song Thrushes, the jazzy rhythms of Dunnocks, accelerating ‘bouncing ping-pong ball’ song of Chaffinches and best of all (for me!) the exuberant, breathless song of Skylarks above the meadows.
Less melodic, the ‘schwee’ of Greenfinches, ‘ticking’ of Wrens, shrieks of Jays and ‘chat’ of Jackdaws. Passing the new pedestrian entrance at Sunnydale on the way in, the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard from the woodland beyond.
Not heard, but seen near the Castle, a tiny Goldcrest among the Sycamore canopy, with Blue and Great Tits all checking out nest sites and a Stonechat perched among the Gorse on the Diagonal Path.
Plenty of plants are starting to bloom, with small numbers of Hairy Violet, Primrose, Herb Robert and a few early Cowslips. Near Tilly Whim, a dense patch of white-flowered Early Scurvy Grass makes an eye-catching display.