Pecking away at the bird feeders this morning; Goldfinch, Chaffinch, and Blue Tit could be seen filling their stomachs with sunflower hearts. A quick flash and flutter of feathers and they’re gone, leaving just a Pheasant to pick up the scraps on the grass below. Nearby, the dawn chorus of Great Tit, Dunnock, and Robin can be heard amongst an Ash Tree. It’s soft tunes broken only occasionally by the harsher churr of a Magpie who hops clumsily between the branches.
I walk down through the Timeline, admiring the great slabs of limestone which upright on either side of this trail. A grey Squirrel jumps along the wall in front of me, leaving a pile of shelled Acorns atop one of the coping stones. Below, I notice the ‘egg’ of Stinkhorn Fungus growing at the edge of the path. In a matter of days it will erupt into a revoltingly beautiful red cage, often covered in flies that have been attracted by it’s unpleasant smell.
A few remaining Sloes cling to the otherwise bare branches of a Blackthorn where three Jackdaws can be seen below. As I watch them scavenge amongst the leaflitter, a rapid thunder builds as a group of 30-40 Woodpigeons race past, just meters above me. Suddenly a second smaller group of 15-20 birds follow, their impressive speed rumbling like a spitfire passing overhead.
The sound of splashing water draws me down to Caravan Terrace where rainwater trickles down of the exposed rock face. Over many years the carbonate minerals have deposited on the branches of Ivy solidifying them as rock, or ‘tufa’ to be a more technical!
This morning the seacliffs were alive with avian activity; Great Black-backed Gulls, Fulmars, Guillemots, Jackdaws, Herring Gulls, and a Peregrine Falcon atop her usual perch. In addition these usual suspects, a good number of Gannets and Kittiwakes could be seen diving out to sea. Hamish even reported spotting an Iceland Gull which has a paler plumage than most other gulls. He credits his binoculars, but even with the gear, I would have no idea!