A wonderful morning just to stand in the meadows, close your eyes and soak up the scents and sounds of summer at Durlston!
Skylarks pour their sweet notes in a tumbling cascade above the meadows, as Greenfinches ‘schwee’ from the hedgerows, punctuating the fluty, syncopated song of Blackcaps and scratchy melodies of Whitethroats. Robins, Great Tits and Blue Tits add to the chorus.
The scent of Mayflower (or Hawthorn blossom) fills the air, along with the bitter tang of Bracken, coconut-scented Gorse and the smell of the sea.
Many of the meadows are covered with a ‘haze’ of blue Pale Flax flowers – at their best first thing in the morning, as they shed their petals as the day goes on. Dense ‘forests’ of Yellow Rattle are dappled with pink Sainfoin, as tall Ox-eye Daisies sway above them. Nestled in the grass, the curious flowers of Common Broomrape – a true parasite of grasses, therefore lacking green Chlorophyll, meaning this little plant can look dead at a glance, even when in full bloom.
A few Common and Small Blue butterflies flutter along the sheltered hedgerow, with Small Copper, Speckled Wood, Adonis Blue and Lulworth Skipper also seen this morning in more sheltered spots.
Some incredible displays of Common Spotted Orchid at the moment in ‘swarms’ of pale pink flowers, with some lovely fresh Bee Orchids on the downs, and a few Pyramidal Orchids just starting to bloom.
Along the cliffs, Guillemots crowd the ledges or bob on the water, along with a few much blacker Razorbills, as Fulmars carve serene arcs above them and a family of Rock Pipits pierce the air with their calls along the clifftop wall.