The sight and sound of a Green Woodpecker, as it took off from the lumps and bumps on the hay meadow, many of these miniature hills are the Yellow Meadow Ant hill, within which are thousands of ants working away. One of the reasons that the woodpecker is often seen in this area as it arrives to eat the ants using its long tongue to wheedle them out.
Meadow Grasshoppers galore in this vicinity, mostly brown in colour but some alternative shades ranging from green to pink. Lots of Field Grasshoppers hopping about, but also gliding using their wings to move around.
By the field edge the large brown with yellow belly of a Dark Bush-cricket was seen as it stood on the leaf of the Wild Clematis, whose flowers are now a mass across the hedgerow. Other species of orthoptera identified were Long-winged Conehead, Grey Bush-cricket and our largest of the lot the Great Green Bush-cricket which was spotted hidden amongst the upright stems of Tall Fescue.
A good array of our ‘common’ resident birds, down by the clifftop Rock Pipits and Stonechats, Linnets and Goldfinches as well as the larger and more raucous Jackdaws which were using the wind to whizz and tumble, which is always great to watch.
On the rocks below a family or two of Shags, their long necks easily spotted as they stand at the water’s edge.
In the woods a Blackbird was turning over leaves, a flock of Long-tailed Tits hung about in the Hazels, then moving onto the stand of Elms twittering as they flew.
Along some of the tracks, evidence of Badger activity, their dung piles indicating that Blackberries are part of their diet already, much of their other food supply will be difficult to obtain because it is so dry.
Yesterday was another hot day, but only a maximum of 29.3, today at present we have a warm north-east breeze coming across making it quite pleasant.