The laughing ‘yaffle’ of a Green Woodpecker heard at the start of my early patrol (it had obviously looked at the weather about to arrive!). Although many of the seabirds have left the cliffs a Shag was bobbing on the water, long neck easily visible, Herring Gulls glided by and a Great Black-backed Gull stood on the viewpoint.
As the rain begun to fall the pale lilac petals of the Sea Aster held the water droplets before the weight of many allowed them to join and run off in large blobs, this only caught my attention as I had been watching a Greater Bloody-nosed Beetle walking across the wall below.
The pale green of Rock Samphire scattered along the rocks with a few Golden Samphire still in bloom, most have now gone over leaving the dead heads alongside those of Wild Parsnip, Teasel and Woolly Thistle.
On the slopes of the downs (I discovered my boots leaks and my waterproofs weren’t) and sliding their way across the short turf hundreds of snails, including the spires of the Cochlicella acuta, plus the flattened shells of Discus rotundatus.
As the rain abated a flock of Goldfinches took off from the large patch of Gorse, a flickering flash of golds and red.
A few splashes of Birds-foot Trefoil in flower amongst the low purple heads of Black Knapweed which are dominating alongside Wild Carrot.
A few Burnet Saxifrage, flowers to discover plus in the meadows the occasional Field Scabious, Pale Flax and Red Bartsia still in bloom.
Scuttling from the grass into the cover of Blackthorn was a Rabbit, the white tail bobbing. More obvious for once was the gorgeous rusty orange of a Roe Deer standing still nearby, watching me as I passed and only then bounding along and up and over the Ivy clad dry-stone wall.
The ‘chat’ of a Stonechat was coming from the top of a Hawthorn which was overgrown by the delicate lemon flowers of Old Man’s Beard. Flitting alongside were two red-breasted Robins.