Wow, the site and sound of the winterbourne in the gully and Skylarks over the meadows. Oh, to the sound of fourteen Hereford calves missing their mothers.
There was a tremendous amount of surface water with temporary pools and streams. The rain gauge measured 20.6, not quite enough for the cup to overflow! Water droplets dangled from the tips of emergent vegetation protruding through the ponds surface. Such plants being essential for when Dragonfly and Damselfly larvae eventual emerge from the water. About the centre Robins, Blackbirds, a Wren and Great Tits were active with the call of a Green woodpecker in the distance. A quartet of Goldfinch and five Woodpigeons were roused from rest at the walling centre. Upon the upper mile marker, a Carrion Crow listened to the calls of a mate out of sight. Both the Lighthouse and sea were visible although a mist sat the west. Ordinarily it is the sound of the sea or wind that is in the background but today it was a tumbling, pooling and cascading winterbourne stream as it followed the route once carved out by glacial melt waters. The stream stretched from the sea to just short of the dew pond (field 3). Where a culvert was inundated the water spread through a field gate and even flowed across the sleeper bridge. In places the water paused, pooled and swirled before moving on.
From Hogget’s Meadow the beautiful song of the morning’s first Skylark accompanied the water flow. A Magpie searched the wet ground of Eight Acres and was joined by two of a half dozen Carrion Crow that flew by. Beside the wet and churned surface of the drove, fresh Honeysuckle leaves were revealed, carpets of Cleavers and Arum leaves at the base of scrub. It was a surprise to find a short multi stemmed Horse Chestnut here which showed large brown sticky buds. At head height a cloud of Gnats flew. Three Skylark were in the air together at times singing over each other! I saw one land and admire it distinctive head tuft. The sound of young mooing cows got louder towards the end of the drove. Unfortunately, they had broken through the electric fence which we had in place to reduce footpath disturbance. I wound up the worst of the wire that might have been a trip hazard to walkers. I accepted this was a battle I would not win alone. In centenary I noticed a Holm Oak sapling in the uncut margin. I suspected it had been a Jay that had transported it there.