A glorious sunny morning after the ‘rain’ of last evening, only 1.2mm recorded in the rain gauge although it felt like much more!
To the headland where a strong north-easterly was blowing, the only sound was the sudden wrenching and tearing of wind as a large sailing boat tacked, boom and sails changing direction, I was only taking note because of the brilliant white Gannet was skimming the blue waves just behind it.
The seabird colony covering the cliffs and the water, bobbing about were 150 Guillemots and Razorbills, a dappled effect with sunlight reflecting making them strangely difficult to see at times.
The main ledge is chocka with Guillemots, many of whom now have chicks, whose age ranges from 10 days to just hatched. The few remaining eggs may well not produce successfully fledged chicks as it is getting late in the season for hatching. See the videos taken from our cliff camera.
Zooming around in large circles were 5 Fulmars, providing a wonderful display as they went in and out and round and round, an occasional cackle indicated another one sat in a crevice somewhere nearby.
A great view of 2 tiny Herring Gull chicks in their nest, the adult protectively stood over them. A little further away the very well camouflaged spotted down of a Great Black-backed Gull sunbathed near its parent.
Flitting along the path the dull brown Lulworth Skipper, as it stopped and perched on the stem of some Quaking Grass the brighter almost gold ring could be seen on its wing. A very different marking to the black stripe on the bright wings of the closely related Small Skipper which was sees a little later.
A family of Rock Pipits arrived on the short turf disturbing a stunning male Bullfinch, which was stood on the dry-stone wall while carrying some food in its beak. The twittering of Linnets drew my attention to the Gorse where a pink chested male was perched, with nearby a Dunnock nipping through the spikes carrying a bright green caterpillar.