This Sea Aster is still putting on an incredible display at RSPB Lodmoor Reserve. Absolutely gorgeous.
Combined with seeing the Glossy Ibis going off to roost with the Great White Egrets, and a Marsh Harrier floating over the reed beds....it doesn't get much better than this!!
Brilliant photos. I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed the spectacular Tuna activity yesterday. Really exciting seeing them leap out the water. They move so fast - I don't know how David got these amazing photos...Jedi reflexes!! Big thanks to the survey team for being so friendly & informative.
A plethora of fabulous fungi from Puddletown Forest to bring some colour on a grey day. Lots of gorgeous Bolettes and Russula, but particularly pleased to find tiny Green Elf Cup - often find the green-stained wood but rarely the fruiting bodies. 🍄 #fungifriends#fungifriday#fungusfriday#mycology
Harvesting tomatoes has become a lot more time consuming! I suddenly have loads of gorgeous Garden Spiders (Araneus diadematus) making webs everywhere at my allotment.
I'm keen to try not to disturb their webs, but I think getting through the laser field in the Oceans 12 film would be easier!! 😅
Really great photos, Graham. Loving the opportunity to enjoy the Wryneck again, what a brilliant encounter with a fabulous bird. I took my own Wryneck souvenir shot that afternoon - not quite on a par with yours.....😂
For #wildflowerhour a throwback to August and a music festival in Portsmouth. The parched ground and heavy footfall left little opportunity for plants to thrive, but this one bank somehow remained a green oasis, dotted with the pretty candy-striped flowers of Field Bindweed. A very welcome sight.
Plenty of butterflies on the wing around Barleycroft Lane, Portland today too. Including 3 Wall, Clouded Yellow, 2 Painted Lady, and lots of Red Admiral nectaring on Ivy flowers. Also a bonus Hummingbird Hawkmoth, and, on the birding front, a fabulous Wryneck. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social
Lovely weather for my butterfly transect at Lorton Meadows, Weymouth. 16 Speckled Wood, plus Comma and Large White recorded. Delighted to end my butterfly season on a high, with two Small Copper - my favourite butterfly!
An exciting visitor to my allotment - the incredible Hummingbird Hawkmoth!
Mesmerising watching it flit between flowers, pausing to probe each with a long proboscis, the wings (allegedly beating 80 times per second) just a blur.
Plenty of tiny, beautiful, Eyebright flowers in the wild quarries on Portland. Not sure of species - my Wildflower ID book quickly made me realise these were going to be tricky, and that feeling was compounded by one of the Eyebright having the scientific name of Euphrasia confusa!! #wildflowerhour
WOW - totally blown away this week by the undeniably gorgeous flowers of Marsh Gentian. The colours, the shape, the detail.....look at those spots! So beautiful. Flower of the week for me.....absolutely, and surely contender for flower of the year. #wildflowerhour
In 2nd place, for my #FavouritePlant is Lady Orchid, seen for the first time in Kent in May with @mariposanature.bsky.social.
It was such a wonderful day, with fellow guests and leaders proving to be great company. And the orchids were fabulous, but the Lady Orchid stole my heart.
Have enjoyed remembering the wonderful flowers, people and places encountered this year in selecting my #FavouritePlant.
In 3rd place for me - the Snowdrop, a simple, beautiful, sign of spring. And this year, it provided added joy as I discovered those hidden green stripes.
Really took the time to look closely at snowdrops this week. I love the spur like projection (spathe), arching up over the flower, the vibrant green chevrons, and then the surprisingly green, stripey interior. Definitely worth the wet knees to get a closer look! #wildflowerhour
#LunarEclipse from North #Oxfordshire. I missed totality but the #Moon popped out from behind the cloud bank so I got some photos of most of the second half :) #Eclipse#LunarEclipse2025
