Some heavy showers and strong westerly winds as the sun rose this morning, but by the time I reached the ‘top of the hill’, the rain had stopped and there were even a few patches of bright blue sky.
Along the cliffs, Great Black-backed Gulls soar by. Our largest native Gull, it’s huge wingspan very apparent as one passed just a few metres out from the clifftop. Shags and a Cormorant also seen close to the cliffs, with their ‘flappy’ wingbeats, as a brilliant white Gannet glides past out in the distance.
The ledges are crowded with Guillemots once again, with more dashing in and out from the cliffs, their narrow black and white wings blurring in motion.
Above the Observation Point, 20 or so Jackdaws veer and swerve on the wind – their noisy cackles filling the air.
In the sheltered trees below Caravan Terrace, a male Bullfinch picks at the flowers of Old Mans’s Beard, which drape a bare Sycamore in silver, his crimson breast and smart black ‘hood’ making him stand out among the more muted tones of the winter scrub. Nearby, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits are all foraging.
On the edge of the Dell, the pink flowers of Herb Robert are in bloom, with the pointed ‘Cranesbill’ seedpods, characteristic of the Geranium family also visible. Further round the Head, the first blue flowers of Greater Periwinkle are starting to appear.
Here and there, Knapweed, Ragwort, Wild Carrot and Bristly Ox-tongue are still in bloom.
Still a few fruits and berries in the hedgerows, from the dark crimson of hips on Dog Rose, to midnight blue Sloes on Blackthorn, and the tiny, glossy black berries of Madder, tangling around the lichen-covered branches of a Hawthorn.
Overhead, the ‘seeps’ of passing Redwing, with the harsh shrieks of a Jay, the piercing high pitched chattering of Goldcrests and the calls of a Tawny Owl also heard in the woodland.