We get wind here, lots of it, but during the summer, mostly
just sea breezes. Even when it’s perfectly still inland, there’s usually a
breeze on the cliffs, but evening frequently brings with it calm and peace.
There’s a slight chill to tonight’s breeze, and from on my perch high above the
sea, there are signs of high summer waning, and the new season creeping in. The
purples of heather are beginning to emerge and mix with remnants of yellow on
the low-lying gorse, forming a glorious natural carpet typical of some parts of
the Gower cliffs in autumn. Elsewhere swaths of mature bracken hide the seeds
of nettles and docks, and open patches of tall grasses sway fawn-coloured in
the wind. Teasels are mostly left with only purple tips, but great and rosebay
willowherb are still in full flower. Blackberries have both flowers and red
berries, and the one black berry I taste is still hard and very sour. Buddleia is
in full flower in the gardens along East Cliff, but not much-visited by
butterflies again this year. There are a few newly hatched red admirals being
blown about in the wind, but on this summer evening, there are no other
butterflies to be seen.
Stonechats, now independent of their parents, are beginning
to lose their spotted plumage and show signs of rusty breasts. It’s the time of
year when small birds are difficult to see in the dense vegetation, and even
though there are lots of juveniles about, most stay hidden. Many adults have started
their annual moult and will stay under cover avoiding predators.
Above Bacon Hole a pair of choughs feeds a noisy full-grown
chick, and below, fulmars still wheel about above the sea. There are early signs
of autumn, but there’s still a lot of summer left.
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