Walking through the woodland this morning, I walked past the Egyptian Seat, and the small copse of Hazel one of our volunteers has been planting over winter. It’s great to see lots of fresh green leaves sprouting from the saplings and coppiced stumps. The song of a Wren rings out high above, impressively loud for such a small little bird.
As I make my past one of the viewpoints, the great blue seascape opens up before me, and I can feel the warmth of the morning sun rising to the east. It draws me in. A few Common Gulls patrol the bay, whilst I notice the top of a small Black Pine creeping into the foreground. Below the cliff edge, the tree turns out to be a pretty big Black Pine with two little siblings beside it. As this is part of the Victorian Pine-Cliff walk, I’m sure George Burt would be pleased!
I reach the Dell next to the Castle, where a Wall Brown butterfly dances along the wall. A Robin red-breast hops precariously across the open glade, occasionally pecking at the ground between the unfurling Harts Tongue and Male Ferns.
On the far side of the Dell, I spot a pair of Blackbirds sharing the same branch of Holm Oak. The female with her brown feathers, and the male with his black feathers and bright orange beak. They turn to each other and touch beaks! I don’t think kissing is a thing for birds, so maybe they were sharing a juicy Earthworm instead.
Although the Primroses are now going over on Caravan Terrace, the surrounding banks are erupting with life. The yellow lowers are being replaced with bright pink flowers of Herb Robert, and freshly sprouting leaves of Woodsage and Ribwort Plantain.22
As I return across the bridge, three Jackdaws leap from the wall, circle above me and then return to the same spot. One of them carries a large piece of tissue in it’s beak. It’s a shame to think that this bird will likely soon be raising it’s chicks using the rubbish as nesting material. At least the tissue was probably dropped accidentally rather than littered on purpose. All the more reason for everyone to take a piece of litter home when out for a walk, as who knows when a piece of tissue last fell out of your pocket!