From the dry-stone walls came the loud, high-pitched calling of baby birds, squeezing in the gaps between the purbeck limestone was a Blue Tit carrying a small green bug or caterpillar.
Out to sea the water was covered in white crests, tumbling over as the wind whipped them up, the contrast in colouring quite spectacular, with bright blue further out and dark grey close to shore – a heavy shower in progress at the time!
A Fulmar soaring around the edges, perfect control as it almost touched the cliffs with its dappled grey wings, before swinging away again.
The ledges packed with Guillemots, mostly now their eggs have hatched and their black and white chicks now being fed – a whole sand eel or sprat at a time!
Splashes of pinks spotted included the deeply coloured Common Mallow and the more delicate balls of Thrift. Added to this the variety of colours and shape of the Wild Carrot, many of the umbels almost round and pink, while other are flat and white, but all with green fronds underneath.
The Tamarisk shrub is covered in furry pinkish white flowers, all on a long tube, underneath the lilac flowers of Stinking Iris are showing well as well as Herb Robert and Woody Nightshade.
We still have a fantastic display of Kidney Vetch around the downs, the yellow flower head, some of which is now starting to turn orangey as it turns to seed.
Other vetches to enjoy are the brighter yellow Horseshoe Vetch, as well as the Meadow Vetchling and the Yellow Vetchling, both of which much taller and more rambling. The round hop shaped heads of Hop Trefoil contract wit the smaller brighter Black Medick – all of these are yellow pea type flowers.
In the meadows more vetches – the purple Tufted Vetch, mauve Common Vetch, pink spikes of Sainfoin and the cerise pink Grass Vetchling, these amongst a super display of Common Spotted Orchids.