A warm, wet morning, with the Park draped in a thick veil of mist, reducing scrub on the downs to dark, ominous silhouettes, and pooling in quarry hollows in the Lighthouse Field.
With visibility reduced, the sounds of the Park are even more striking, with a chorus of birdsong growing stronger by the day.
The repetitive, 'squeaky bicycle-pump' song of Great Tits can be heard all over the Park, joined by the accelerating song of Chaffinches (though still a little hesitant), the jazzy rhythms of Dunnocks, the insistent song of Robins and the glorious, sweet notes of Blackbirds - always guaranteed to lift my spirits!
Also heard, the cooing of Woodpigeons in the woodland, harsh 'cronk' of a Raven above the Pleasure Grounds woodland, jangling calls of a flock of Goldfinches and just outside my window as I write, the chirps of a pair of House Sparrows - the male picking tiny insects of the branches of a Buddleia, as the female watches from her perch on top of the camera nest-box (they prefer communal nest-sites, so are unlikely to use it as more than a perch, but nest under the eaves most years).
In the scrub opposite, Blue Tits chase in and out of the Blackthorn in a fluttery display.
Along the cliffs, the soft growls of Guillemots rise up from the water below, scattered across the water with a dozen, smart black Razorbills among the 'bazaar'. The ledge itself is packed with Guillemots, while around the cliffs, things feel a lot busier, as breeding season approaches, with Fulmars and Shags both very noticeable this morning, with Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls also on the wing.
A Black Redstart skitters over the rocks at the bottom of the Gully, while nearby, the tiny white flowers of Whitlow Grass are starting to appear.
Squelching back through the meadows, the fresh leaves of Cowslips and Ox-eye Daisies are starting to appear, with fresh Elder leaves starting to unfurl along the Drove.