Another wild night of wind, rain, thunder and lightning with another 14.9mm of rain recorded last night, totalling over 100mm in the last week!
Grassland squelches pleasingly underfoot, though if venturing away from the woodland or coast path, a pair of wellies is definitely the order of the day!
Some brilliant sunshine to start the day, with the sea so dazzlingly bright, I have to squint to make out the silhouettes of a group of passing Kittiwakes. Closer to the cliffs, a Great Black-backed Gull wheels on broad, powerful wings, as a Shag flaps ponderously by.
A Peregrine Falcon sits hunched in her usual spot near the Observation Point, as a flock of 15 Jackdaws pick through the clifftop turf – they seem to spend so much of their time trying to see what the birds around them are eating, that they have no time to feed themselves!
Goldfinches and Woodpigeons pass by overhead throughout most of the morning rounds, along with a few Siskin and Redpoll.
On Caravan Terrace, a Dunnock picks through the leaf litter at the edge of the grassland, shuffling along in a mouse-like way, as a Blackbird probes the turf nearby. The pattering of water running down the cliff-face at the back of the ledge fills the air, with Blackcap, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit and Great Tit feeding among the scrub below the bridge.
Nice to see (rather then hear for once!) both Goldcrest and Firecrest this morning – a Goldcrest among the high branches of an Ash near the Dell. The Firecrest was ringed this morning as part of our ongoing bird-ringing studies, giving me an exceptional close up view of this tiny, but rather pugnacious looking little bird.
A Jay is busy burying acorns in Long Meadow (forgetful Jays are responsible for the propagation of most Oak trees), with a glimpse of a Sparrowhawk hurtling along the hedgerow nearby