Compared to the frigid days of the previous week, today felt like August, hitting a barmy 9°! The frost that clung to the path edges and surface water is now gone, replaced by mud and puddles, get your wellies on!
Today had a distinctively ominous feel to it as a low fog covered the Country Park. Crossing the fields, Blackbirds were singing their melancholy song and the occasional gang of Jackdaws would fly over, calling “chack” as they cruise by. The windswept Blackthorn in the fields looked lonely as they gradually creeped out of the fog as I approached them.
Arriving at the lighthouse, the odd Gull effortlessly glides over. The sea looks vast. The fog lightly touching the horizon, it seems endless.
Then I get my first glimpse of colour amongst the fog, the rusty red of a Stonechat. Several pairs of them appeared to be flirting. Perching near one another, looking back, then swapping perches. Overlooking them, a single Black Redstart sat on a post, unamused.
The coast path was brimming with birds this morning. Both the male and female Peregrine were patrolling their territory, Fulmars were riding the coastal winds and the Guillemots were exploding from their overcrowded ledge.
Returning up to the learning centre, via the diagonal path, small bunches of a pretty white flower, I didn’t recognise, caught my eye. They turned out to be the flowers of Laurustinus viburnum, shown in the image above.
Around the car park, the odd remnant of Crocus bud still protrudes from the grass, punished by the previous week’s cold snap. Undeterred by the cold, white and pink Daisy buds have begun to open. Is spring just around the corner?