What a glorious spring morning! The park almost glows with 50 shades of green, sunlight sparkles on a dazzling sea, beneath a dome of Royal Blue sky, scuffed with high cloud.
The cliffs are bustling with activity, as Guillemots whir in and out from the ledges on little, flickering wings, or growl gently to each other on the water below. We expect the first chick any day now, so pop into the Castle to see if you can spot one with our cliff camera.
A Fulmar carves smooth arcs through the air near the clifftop, where a Razorbill perches on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by flowering Thrift. Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls are also on the wing, with a Shag, bobbing on the water looking magnificent as the sunshine illuminates the iridescent green sheen on his black feathers.
A report from a visiting birder of a Little Egret passing by earlier this morning – an relatively unusual sighting for Durlston, with the blood-curding screech of a Peregrine Falcon echoing off the cliffs at Tilly Whim.
Dingy, Grizzled and Large Skippers all seen fluttering above the banks along the Clifftop Trail, with plenty of Adonis Blues above the flowery downland, along with Common and Holly Blue.
Near the Lighthouse, the short, clifftop turf is carpeted with an amazing display of yellow-flowered Kidney Vetch, with the similar Horseshoe Vetch and Birdsfoot Trefoil also in bloom.
On the Milepost Slope, the grass is studded with Chalk and Common Milkwort, in shades of blue and pink, while further up the slow, extravagantly beautiful Bee Orchids are starting to appear. Early Purple and Common Spotted Orchids are also in bloom around the meadows and downs, with tall, swaying Ox-eye Daisies also starting to appear.
The still air is filled with birdsong, with the carolling of Skylarks above the meadows, the scratchy calls of Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats from the scrub, sweet, fluty notes of Blackcaps, along with Sedge Warblers, Goldfinches, Robins, Wrens and Dunnocks. Nice to hear the familiar call of a Yellowhammer – not such a common sound here as it once was.