The coldest night of the winter so far last night, getting down to -0.2 (well it’s cold for Durlston!).
The park looks spectacular this morning, under a rising sun, filling the sky with streaks of pink and blue, and the meadows and downs glittering beneath a thick layer of white frost.
Underfoot, what once squelched now crunches pleasingly, with ferny traceries on frozen puddles and ponds.
The silvery seeps of Redwing passing overhead seem very appropriate this morning, with a flock of 6 seen above the Saxon Field – their rusty red ‘armpits’ echoing the reddish morning sunshine.
Flocks of jangling Goldfinches emerge from the scrub as the sun rises – their crimson and gold colours looking lovely in the sunshine, with a Green Woodpecker ‘yaffling’ as he bobs along the top of the Lighthouse Field.
Looking down on the ‘Dell’ from the bridge to Caravan Terrace, it is a hive of activity, with 3 Grey Squirrels, 2 Song Thrushes, Blue Tit, Chaffinch Blackbird and Dunnock all foraging among the bare earth and patchy growth!
Nearby, a Bullfinch surveys the scene from the top of an overhanging Blackthorn on Caravan Terrace. Below him, water is pouring over the cliff face, as it makes it’s way between the sandwiched layers of limestone which end at the ‘Tufa Spring’ here.
The ‘cronk’ of a Raven makes me look up, to see her circling the slopes of Durlston Bay, with a Kestrel seen hovering just round the corner above the Globe.
Guillemots and Razorbills pass by off Durlston Head, with 5 Fulmars, Herring Gull, Shag and Great Black-backed Gull also seen.
In the woods, the fresh green leaves of Herb Robert can be found, along with those of Snowdrops, with a Dandelion in full bloom!