A lovely spring morning, with a bright blue sky paved with little squares of white cloud, high overhead, with some bright sunshine making the fresh grass shoots shine and glitter in the breeze.
All over the meadows, Skylarks hurl their breathless song into the sky, filling the air with a cascade of song. Less melodic, a pair of Ravens ‘cronk’ to each other as they circle above the Large Copse on broad, powerful wings.
A growing chorus of songs and calls in the hedgerows, with the accelerating song of Chaffinches, mingling with the jazzy rhythms of Dunnocks, the insistent song of Robins, ‘ticking’ of Wrens, with a few notes from a Stonechat from the depths of a patch of Gorse on the downs.
Nearby, a bank of scrub around the Dew Pond is bustling with activity, with a male and female Bullfinch, 4 Chaffinches, Dunnock, Blue and Great Tits, Robin and 4 House Sparrows all crammed into just a few yards!
Overhead, Linnets, Pied Wagtails and a Siskin among the birds passing overhead, with a Buzzard wheeling steadily above the back meadows.
Buds are starting to break on many trees and shrubs, with Sallow, Wayfaring Tree and Horse Chestnut all starting to come into leaf.
Among the fresh green grass and curvy stems of Crow Garlic, Early Spider and Early Purple Orchids are in leaf, along with the heart-shaped leaves of Dog Violet, with Primroses and a few early Cowslips already in flower, along with the bright yellow ‘starbursts’ of Lesser Celandine and the tiny white flowers of Whitlow Grass.
At Tilly Whim, an Adder writhes lazily in the morning sunshine, with Guillemots and Razorbills bobbing on the water below, as Fulmars, Shags, Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls circle the cliffs.
Just outside the window as I write, a pair of Blue Tits are popping in and out of the hole in a bollard, while a Great Tit pops his head out of the camera box to survey the view!