The warm sun shone down on me as the Elm leaves rustled above from the light southerly breeze. Around the Castle was a hive of activity, Blue-tit flew around the dark shaded canopy of the Holm Oaks, Goldfinches flitted across the tops of Elm, Bramble and dry-stone walls and a Robin sang it’s sweet tune from the top of a Corsican Pine. A Great-tit skimmed through an Elder tree and a female Blackbird rummaged around the ground cover of Cleavers and Ivy.
Approaching the observation point the southerly wind got suddenly very chilly as it whipped through my jumper. The ocean seemed vast today, a deep green colour with large patches as the sun formed black shadows from the dotted clouds. The sea looked like it was covered in Sprats lying on the surface, a moment of horror but I soon realised they were a massive raft of 100+ Guillemots. In the mix were also 20 Razorbills and a Shag. Further up on the cliffs I was happy to see the Great Black-backed Gull chicks had survived the strong winds and were nestled down on their ledge.
The clifftops are adorned with colour, from Sea Thrift, Sea Champion, Birds-foot Trefoil and many shades of green. Fulmars were flying around circling as they do, while two separate pairs were huddled in nooks along the cliff face. A male Whitethroat sang its scratchy song from a Tamarisk tree, and a Green Woodpecker was heard across the woodland.
On the edges of the clifftop path Birds-foot Trefoil, Wild Carrot, Kidney Vetch and Horseshoe Vetch are all appearing and as I watched a clump of earth rolled downhill, I followed the line up and found a Garden Snail on a bare earth patch. The slightly sheltered area of the diagonal path often makes a great shelter for small birds and today was no exception. Linnets, Stonechat, Thrush, Chaffinch, Whitethroat, Wren and greenfinch were all seen along this path and as I reached the woodland Chiffchaffs called as well. My final sighting was a beautiful Jay sat up high in an Ash tree, for such a shy bird it really was on show and I had a wonderful view of its speckled blue feathers, sparkling in the morning sunshine.