Spring is definitely springing! This is always an exciting time of year to do the ‘early rounds’ of the Park, with almost every day bringing a new ‘first’ for the year.
This morning, a couple of new voices (for me) added to the chorus of birdsong, with the lovely ‘schweeee’ of Greenfinches heard for the first time this year in the Gully and the rhythmic, repetitive calls of a Chiffchaff heard from the top of a hedgerow in the meadows nearby.
Skylarks pour their fluid notes into the sky overhead, with the sweet notes of Blackbirds, gabbled chatter of Blue Tits and accelerating song of Chaffinches also heard.
As I enter the Park at Sunnydale, a Great Spotted Woodpecker is ‘drumming’ against a London Plane, with the cackle of a Green Woodpecker heard as it crosses Long Meadow.
A Buzzard once again seen wheeling above Durlston Bay, as the croaking of a Raven shatters the quiet from the top of a Black Pine.
Trees are breaking buds all over the Park, with Elder and Hawthorn newly in leaf, Blackthorn almost in flower, while at the top of the Lighthouse Road, a Cherry Plum is covered in blossom.
The cliffs are bustling with noise and activity, with Guillemots crammed onto the ledges, like black and white milk bottles on a doorstep, with many more growling softly to each other as they bob on the lapping waves below or whir in and out on flickering wings. 23 much blacker Razorbills also on the water – this is shaping up to be a great year for this species, with a record breaking 37 counted a couple of days ago.
Fulmars carve smooth arcs around the clifftop, dwarfed by Great Black-backed Gulls gliding on broad black wings. Jackdaws bustle around with beaks full of twigs, with the plaintive cry of an Oystercatcher heard as it passes just above the sea, providing a great view of it’s smart black and white plumage and ‘carrot’ beak!
Overhead, a few Siskin, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails pass by.