A varied skyscape this morning, with everything from patches of bright blue, wisps of high white cloud and tumbled grey ‘boulders’. Nonetheless, plenty of sunshine, with a gentle breeze carrying the sweet smell of Hawthorn blossom, the sharp tang of Nettles and the sea.
A few butterflies taking advantage of the sunshine, with several Holly Blues fluttering along the edges of scrub, Speckled Woods dancing in patches of dappled sunshine, a stunning orange Small Copper soaking up the sun in Long Meadow and a Red Admiral basking on a wall at Tilly Whim.
As the Cowslips come to end, the meadows take on a new hue, with seas of bobbing Bulbous Buttercup, with dots of early blue Pale Flax, bright pink Agrimony, tangles of pink Common Vetch and the first few Ox-eye Daisies.
Here and there, the curious Adderstongue Fern can be found – just a couple of inches high.
Skylarks fill the air with song, while the hedgerows are filled with white Hawthorn blossom. Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinches, Robins and Wrens are all singing their heart out from the scrub and hedges.
On the downland, ‘dusty’ blue Wild Clary is in flower, with the leaves of Common Toadflax, Black Mustard and Hemp Agrimony starting to appear.
Guillemots and Razorbills bob on the water, or whir in and out from the cliffs, with elegantly gliding Fulmars, nesting Great Black-backed Gulls, ponderously flapping Shags and a sleek, grey arrow of a Peregrine Falcon also seen.
In the green of the woodland, Common Twayblade orchids are in bloom, along with the white flowers of Three-cornered Leek and Ramsons, pink Herb Robert and Bluebells.