A glorious morning with a smattering of frost on the ground in the more sheltered patches. The dead brown fronds of Bracken encrusted with glittering white ice.
Although there is frost on the ground there is also lots of mud, full of footprints – mostly human boots, but a few of Roe Deer, Fox and Badger.
In the sky, just above Herren Ground, Skylarks were showing themselves, four of these streaky brown birds chasing each other and fluttering together, then hovering, a great sight.
Towards the gully the tinkling call of a charm of Goldfinches made me look behind me where the flashes of their yellow wings markings was reflecting the sunlight.
The call of a Robin sounded from the edge of the Hawthorn tree, where a Black Redstart flicked its fiery red tail. A sudden flurry of action as the Robin darted towards the Black Redstart, a quick chase between these closely related species, before they both settled again on the branches.
Arriving on the thick branch of a mature Sycamore was a Sparrowhawk, the stripy chest just visible through the mass of smaller twigs between us, a few moments later it was disturbed by a large Wood Pigeon, displacing it, sending the hawk off through the canopy.
Near the castle a Siskin passed over as did a couple of Pied Wagtails, while from the dense foliage of the Holm Oak came the high pitched calls of a Goldcrest, difficult to track down to get a good view as they were constantly on the move.
On the water a mass of Guillemots, 101 counted of which 10 were still in their winter plumage, today strangely for recent weeks not a single Razorbill amongst this bazaar (one of the collective terms for Guillemots)
The breeding ledge packed with more of these chocolate brown and white seabirds whilst swinging around the rock edge were 2 Fulmars.