Yesterday, two Slow Worms (Legless Lizards) had to be relocated as we moved logs and cut them for firewood. One Slow Worm had squeezed itself into a crevice, so I carefully extracted it hoping it would not shed its tail as a defence mechanism. However, a rounded stump told me it had already shed its tail once before.
Today I saw two of my favourite flowers finally in bloom. My “Hilt Wort”, with its yellow flowers and conjoined leaves, showed sixty stems on lighthouse green’s short grass. Otherwise known as Yellow Wort the taller plant had Eyebright beneath. The lemon and custard coloured flowers of Common Toadflax bloomed on a few its leaf whorls in the gully. Dwarf Mallow bloomed at ground level towards the coast while the yellow flower spikes of Agrimony appeared on the green and the gully slopes. It was a delight to see good numbers of Bee Orchids on the green, as well as the solo stem that retuned again between the bottom of the diagonal path and Tilly Whim steps. Pyramidal Orchid flowers we easily seen within the car park verge near the Centre. Red Bartsia and Meadow Vetchling were opening flowers in the meadows.
Easily one hundred Guillemots rafted upon the gently rolling swell, amongst which I counted eight Razorbills. Flying west rather close into the sea cliffs was one Gannet. More regular cliff gliders were the trio of Fulmar. In passing through the lattice work of the lowest mile marker the wind wailed. From the Tamarisk beside Tilly Whim steps a pair of Greenfinch and another of Bullfinch appeared. A second pair of Bullfinches materialised out of Tamarisk at Anvil Point only to disappear into the Lighthouse complex. Hedge Bedstraw showed white flowers below Gorse which itself held more seed pods than flowers. A pair of Chiffchaffs were about to fly in front of me on Lighthouse Road Bridge, however, one turned tail to perch and monitor my movements instead. Between the multitude of leaves amongst a dense carpet of Old Man’s Beard one female Blackbird disappeared. In the Small Copse leaf laden branches swayed above whilst the herb layer moved about my ankles. Still I disturbed sheltering micro moths and alarmed a Carrion Crow.
When did you last see Portland from Durlston?