Another grey and windy morning, though at least I had a dry walk to work this time!
A powerful WSW wind gusts across the Park, sending ripples through stands of dry, bronze Tor Grass and flurrying fallen leaves into tiny whirlwinds.
At sea, huge breakers, a metre or two tall and dozens of metres long roll in across Durlston Head, or explode into the cliffs at Tilly Whim, breaking high into the air.
Out in the distance, Gannets and Brent Geese power through the wind, while the ledges are packed with black and white Guillemots, with many more flickering in and out to sea on tiny wings.
A few Razorbills also passing by, with a few Kittiwakes further out to sea. The piercing calls of Rock Pipits, along the clifftop cut through the breeze, with gangs of squabbling Jackdaws circling overhead.
At Tilly Whim, a single bloom of purple and yellow Sea Aster is still in flower, with the pale pink flowers of Tamarisk dancing in the breeze on the cliff edges.
Inland, numerous small ‘charms’ of Goldfinches billow like smoke, filling the air with their jangling calls and brightening a drab morning with their lovely crimson and gold plumage.
The ‘cronk’ of a Raven heard overhead, with a quick glimpse of a Kestrel, barrelling through the wind above the Lighthouse Field.
More splashes of colour from the yellow flowers of Fleabane, Rough Hawkbit, Bristly Ox-tongue and Ragwort, still flowering on the downland.
The hedgerows are also a picture at the moment, with the bright red ‘Hips’ of Dog Rose and berries of Bryony, like strings of beads, ‘dusty’ midnight blue Sloes on Blackthorn and the multi-coloured berries of Bittersweet. The silver, fluffy flowers of Old Man’s Beard (or Wild Clematis) weave a tangled web around them, while at the base of the hedgerows bright orange Stinking Iris seeds can be seen.