A brutal wind was somewhat spoiling what was otherwise a pleasant morning. It was mostly overcast but the sun was peaking through the clouds at times and the temperature mild.
I walked through the woodland towards the castle not much activity unsurprisingly, a tattered Speckled Wood was being buffeted about and a Blue Tit darted away into some scrub alarming as it went.
I rounded the castle and descended around Durlston Head the East side blissfully sheltered from the south westerly gust. Several Hoverfly’s were buzzing around some Ivy I couldn’t get close enough to ID species.
Not so sheltered as I came round past the globe, several brave birders had the same idea as me and were trying to spot sea birds blown in by winds. One reported a couple of Shearwaters and four Gannets. A male Goldfinch was trying its hardest to perch on a Teasle its red bid looking very smart.
Along the clifftop Feral Pigeons were enjoying the wind whooshing down just over the path and pulling up bellow the top of the cliff. A clattering of Jackdaws came over head calling to each other as the past. Two Shags flew past from west to east boosted by the wind, they looked dangerously close to the white caps of the swelling sea.
I went down to the Tilly Whim ledge to check the blow hole, it wasn’t going off while I was down there although it did look rough enough with sea spray being blown off the tops of the waves.
As I walked back up towards the centre one last glance out to sea and I spotted a Juvenile Gannet barely moving as it flew into the wind.