Mullion, Cornwall

Saturday 8th October 2016

We arrived at our holiday cottage in Mullion, Cornwall late this afternoon in brilliant warm sunshine.  We made the most of the amazing view along the coast and the sunshine and sat outside, watching flocks of starlings and as yet unidentified little birds (we're on to it though) on the telegraph wires above us.  

NB The little birds are mainly linnets with a few meadow pipits in amongst them.

From this spot we watched....

......a kestrel (a female - with brown head)

with some very brave souls sitting above her!

It all suddenly got much louder when a kestrel turned up but funnily enough the little birds appeared to take very little notice of it.  Over the next hour the kestrel came and went a few times until the sun set but hopefully we'll see more of it over the next week.

NB - edited - I have read up on kestrels and they mainly eat mammals and only occasionally take small birds.

Starlings.

Many starlings with a kestrel sitting above them (top centre).

As it was getting dusky and we were moving back indoors a fox wandered by in the field in front of the garden, the photo isn't great but it was actually getting quite dark so the shutter stayed open for a while and things got a bit blurry!  

Then in front of us walked..........

..........this bundle of loveliness!

I'm really hoping we'll see even more epic wildlife over the next week but for now, so far so good, can't complain!

Studland And A Black Rabbit

Thursday 29th September 2016

After a dull and wet start today, this afternoon was much better, the sun came out and it was warm enough for t shirts again.  We parked at the Middle Beach car park at Studland and had a lovely walk along to Knoll Beach.  Before we went onto the beach we looked for and found a geocache near the Dragon's Teeth (which were built to impede the movement of tanks and mechanised infantry during the Second World War).  

 It made a change for us to walk along the beach at low tide and today's tide seemed extra low. Fortunately there was no sign of the thick piles of smelly seaweed that have been along the shore on our last few visits, the beach was surprisingly seaweed free!  

The dragons teeth above and below hidden amongst the ferns!

There were masses and masses of worm casts on the beach, this one I particularly liked!

There would have been crowds of people on this beach only a month or so ago, today however it was very quiet and very peaceful.

There were quite a few swallows swooping around above the sand dunes and just above the sea, I suppose they are gathering on the coast ready to fly off back to Africa soon.  We saw young herring gulls picking up shellfish, flying up high and dropping them so that they smashed on the stones and made it easier to eat. We also saw a couple of oyster catchers and a cormorant.

Late afternoon sun

Back at the car park, just as we were leaving I spotted a couple of wild rabbits, one the usual brown colour and one black!

I've seen black rabbits in the wild near Southampton before once or twice, but it's not something I've seen very often, it was nice to see it and it didn't seem too bothered by us either.  All in all a very pleasant afternoon at a lovely spot.

The Waverley Paddle Steamer at Swanage Pier

Friday 9th September 2016

Well, it's been a while!!  I've been doing lots of walking over the Summer since the last time I wrote on this blog back in June I just haven't found the time to do a blog.  I will hopefully catch up with a few of them soon.  Most of our walking tends to be in much the same places at the moment and I thought things were all getting a bit duplicated but now I have decided that even if they are the same the seasons change and places look different in different weathers, so on we go!!!!

Yesterday we walked into Swanage for a coffee in a cafe overlooking the bay and realised that the paddle steamer Waverley was moored at the pier and was shortly due to depart on a day trip along the coast and over to the Isle of Wight.  Swanage Pier is epic, it's like stepping back in time and it was great to get up close to the Waverley and listen to the Captain speaking to the passengers over the public address system about the upcoming trip.

The water was very clear and calm, looking towards the Waverley at the end of the pier.

We were lucky with the weather, the forecast was dull and cloudy but we had some warm sunny intervals, so no complaints here.

A young herring gull.

I have no idea why but I thought the Waverley was a lot smaller than it is.

A closer view of the paddle.

The Waverley reversing away from the pier and out to sea.

One out, one in........ the Poole Ferry was the next thing to arrive, it was all go!!!

For information on the Waverley see here

Sea Views at Anvil Point

Thursday 8th September 2016

This week it has been much quieter in and around Swanage now that the schools are back, we especially noticed this on a wander around Durlston Country Park.  As usual for Swanage it was quite windy, windy enough to produce little white horses on the waves out to sea so we sat sea watching and drinking coffee for a while, not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Looking towards Anvil Point.

There weren't many boats about!

There was a fair old  swell on the sea.

Anvil Point Lighthouse.

The Tilly Whim Caves, a nice spot for coffee - it was a good job we took it with us!

We walked on around Durlston Country Park.

Dry stone wall maintenance in progress.

A real end of Summer scene.

By this point we realised that our parking ticket was about to run out (having spent so long sea watching) so we had to get a wriggle on back to the car.

The Agglestone Rock on Godlingston Heath

Wednesday 31st August 2016

This was a new walk for us this afternoon.  Although it was dull and overcast it was a pleasant walk skirting round the edge of Studland Golf Course and on to the Agglestone Rock, details of which can be found here.  It's quite weird, just there all on it's own!

The Agglestone Rock with Poole Harbour beyond.

The pink tinge of heather.

Approaching the Rock.....

......and from the other side!

Very odd in the middle of the heath!

I'm glad that's nice and clear then!!!

The sun put in a brief appearance.

In the distance, Old Harry Rocks in the sunshine.

Meanwhile, back in our neck of the woods, rain was threatening so we marched on a bit quick back to the car.

Swanage in Summer - Doesn't Get Any Better!

Tuesday 30th August 2016

When the sun shines in Swanage, (and to be fair, even when it doesn't) there really is no better place, it's so easy to get away from the crowds on the main beach and relax in peace and quiet by just walking a short distance. Over the Summer there have been all types of boats moored in the bay and over the last few weeks I have taken a few photos to show some of them and to show off the beach itself.

 A view of Peveril Point that we particularly like when we walk in to Swanage the 'long' way.

All is calm at Peveril Point.

Then, moving on to the North End of the beach, I think this is Moonfleet of Swanage out in the bay.

You can see how quiet and beautiful it is.  (a great spot as long as the tide is out, you can't easily access this part of the beach when the tide is in and it's easy to get cut off)

 A Black Headed Gull (with a white head at this time of year!) drinking from the freshwater stream that crosses the beach, it was a hot day and it seemed quite thirsty.

Back at the other end of Swanage, more boats taken on a walk along the pier - on 19th August.

They say not to take photos into the sun, well I did anyway and I like it!

The old pier.

The Old Pier and a few boats, the orange one on the left is the diving school boat and the orange one on the right is the Swanage All Weather Lifeboat.

And here we have a board showing information on the dive sites that the divers visit.

Just look how clear the sea is, Swanage at it's best!