A quiet and gloomy start to the day. Just the sound of a gentle breeze rolling in across Durlston Bay and rustling leaves of the Holm Oaks before dissipating into silence. It was good distance before I heard my first birds of the morning; the soft coo of a Pigeon atop the Castle, followed by a frantic call of a Wren as it dived into some Bramble.
I walked down along the clifftop towards Tilly Whim, enjoying blooms of the late coastal flowers; bulbous flower heads of Sea Campion, turgid stems of Rock Samphire, and beautiful lilac-coloured Sea Aster.
A few Shags patrolled westward along the coast, their heads low against the water as they beat their lofty wings. Easily mistaken for a Cormorant, these birds have glossy green sheen to their plumage, a yellow patch on their cheeks, and a steeper forehead; that in the breeding season lifts into an impressive quiff, rivalling the cowlick style haircuts of the noughties.
At this point I decided I should go and check on the Hereford Cows, so walked down into the Gully and back up the other side listing to the Stonechat chatter on the way. As I rounded past the Lighthouse I wasn’t too pleased to find 3 escaped cows happily grazing away in front of me. The other 34 cows where they should be, in the next field over.
The Lighthouse field isn’t the most secure field without electric fencing, as the cows can quite easily wander all the way along the coast path. So as a lone ranger, I decided to attempt the impossible: return 3 cows into the right field, without letting the other 34 escape.
Now, to be fair to me, it was going quite well to start with! The three cows followed me all the way up to the gate and I managed to get the first cow back into the field fairly easily. However, the other two 2 cows were not so obliging. I got one of them right up to the gate, before it ran off along the coast path. Then as I chased after it, 2 more cows escaped from the field, and it was at this point that I lost all hope of doing this by myself.
Fortunately one my fellow rangers will be in later this morning, so we can try again then!