Strolling out this morning it was still dark as I headed towards the North West corner of the park. It felt like a mini-adventure as I trekked across fields counting cows, checking fence-lines, listening to the morning bird song, watching birds and trying but failing miserably to not trip over the Brambles that kept wrapping themselves around my ankles.
The bird song was just magical the sound of Great-tits, Song Thrush and Robin being the first I heard. A little twittering above as a flock of Long-tailed Tits flew over head to then perch in one of the many scrub patches. Dunnocks, Blackbird, Stonechat and Blackcap, were all making their voices heard, as the smell of Almonds wafted around from the mass of Winter Heliotrope covering the wet ground.
A sudden turn as a Green Woodpecker screeched and flew up into an Ivy covered Hawthorn, made me notice the group of Starlings flying around low to the ground then perching simultaneously on the overhanging wires. A Wren was dancing around a dry-stone wall as another Song Thrush sang from the top of a Willow tree. Skylark, Meadow Pipit and 3 Roe Deer were also seen, a most exciting walk for a Saturday. By Catherine Carter
A very still, dark start to the day as I woke up this morning, with a dusting of frost just about covering the car park verges. From a distance, the distinctive deep croak of a Raven could be made out towards Reservoir Copse, contrasted by the melodious sounds of Song Thrush, Great Tits, Dunnock and Robins outside the Learning Centre. A Blackbird and Wren flittered through the Hawthorn and Blackthorn thickets. You may be wondering why birds like the Robin will even sing during the winter, in complete contradiction to the Dawn Chorus which signifies for many the epitome of spring. Robins must maintain a territory all year round, not only for breeding during the summer but to maintain a food source to see them through the winter! They only ever stop singing to undertake a complete moult in late summer.
As the day brightened up, I decided to head towards the clifftops, met on the way by a Green Woodpecker, a curious Grey Squirrel and the call of Chaffinches echoing across an avenue of Holm Oaks. Walking across Durlston Head I was not to be disappointed, with around 400+ Guillemots and Razorbills to be seen at various points along the cliff, bobbing out at sea or flying low in an arrow formation. Out to sea, around 10+ Shag, Herring Gulls and bickering Great Black-backed Gulls could be seen. A Peregrine Falcon stood prominently from its cliff perch. The Tamarisk near the Globe provided the unexpected but great find of 3 Goldcrests, alongside Blue Tits carefully feeding across its branches. As I headed back towards the Learning Centre, signs of (dare I say it) spring could be made out with the emergence of Lords and Ladies leaves scattered across the woodland. By Gwyneth Mitchell