The sound of a Green Woodpecker welcomed me to the morning patrol, the loud laughing yaffle made me look towards it, where I was able to enjoy the sight of two youngsters perched upright on the trunk of a White Poplar.
Across the meadow two Roe Deer slowly wandered, the male with a good set of antlers, both in splendid rusty orange pelage, quite difficult to see against the dry brown grasses and Yellow Meadow Ant hills.
Throughout the walk a sound of bush-crickets and grasshoppers accompanied me, with Meadow Grasshopper probably the loudest or at least most persistent, but Field Grasshoppers also in good song!
Along the cliffs the buzz of a Grey Bush-cricket alerted me to its presence, I then spent sometime finding it amongst the grasses on the banks, eventually one was tracked down. Along the downs a Roesel’s Bush-cricket was discovered, its yellow side obvious from close up.
Down by the cliffs, Rock Pipits galore, flitting up from amongst the grey rocks, their tweeting a constant noise coming from both the adults and youngsters.
At sea were two Great Black-backed Gulls swimming with four fairly newly fledged chicks, whether two families or one was not something I could tell.
The cliff flowers, still in good bloom, with bright yellow of Golden Samphire on dark green leaves contrasting with the pale greens of Rock Samphire.
The patches of our speciality the Durlston Rock-sea Lavender a delicate purple on the cliff edge. Ploughman’s Spikenard, Wild Carrot, Yarrow, Common Mallow and Teasel all to be found on the dry thin soiled banks.
A great view of a Wall Brown butterfly basking on the mud, a few of another of the area specials, the Lulworth Skippers - a dull brown buzzing in the Tor Grass, lots of Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites all about. The second brood of blue butterflies has not shown well yet, with just a scattering of Common and Adonis Blues in evidence
On my return a Peregrine Falcon zoomed overhead, causing the sound of the air ripping.