Trip reports

Minibus Trip to Durlston Country Park Saturday June 6th 2009

Saturday, 6 June 2009

On a day that because of the weather forecast promised little, a group of fourteen optimistic people set out, in the minibus, for Durlston Country Park in Dorset. As things turned out the day remained dry, although a stiff breeze was present throughout.

Standing on the cliffs right above the seabird colony in the morning gave us good looks at a large number of guillemots and smaller numbers of razorbill, fulmar, shag and the obligatory cormorant, along with greater black-backed and herring gulls. The views were so good the group didn't feel the need to watch the CCTV of the colony, available in the Visitor Centre! Sea watching for a while also allowed quite close views of two small flocks of manx shearwater, and a small number of gannets.

Smaller birds seen during the pleasant, meandering walk along the cliffs and through meadows included whitethroat, skylark, stonechat and yellowhammer, and a pair of peregrine falcons soared high overhead during everyone's picnic lunch.

The sun made half-hearted attempts to put in an appearance at various times. This created little pockets of warmth in the shelter of hedgerows and bushes where some of the party were lucky enough to discover a basking adder before it slithered off into the undergrowth. During another of the sun's reluctant appearances, several butterflies were seen, including speckled wood, dingy and large skippers, small heath, painted lady, common and small blues and one example of the species for which this area is noted, the adonis blue although it was slightly wind-battered and so in rather less than pristine condition.

Durlston has wonderful cliff-top grassland areas, and several hay meadows, which are full of yet more wild flowers and orchids. The group were treated to very large numbers of pyramidal orchids, several common spotted and bee orchids, thrift, kidney vetch and birdsfoot trefoil, grass and yellow vetchlings, pale flax, clary, yellow wort, yellow rattle, dyer's greenweed, woolly thistle, chalk milkwort and eyebright amongst many hundreds of blossoming flowers.

The whole group enjoyed a varied and interesting day, and even a picnic, despite the cold and windy conditions.

Species List: Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Kestrel, Peregrine, Herring Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, Guillemot, Razorbill, Woodpigeon, Green Woodpecker, Skylark, Swallow, Wren, Dunnock, Stonechat, Blackbird, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Yellowhammer. (31 in all)

Reported by Dave Bennett