Still undersided? Our 2026 Spanish butterfly tours are filling fast. All of them benefit from a £150 early bird discount if booked before 1 Dec 2025, and all generate a donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social. Tours all to see on the calendar on our website: mariposanature.com/calendar

Meanwhile, this coming January, I've the Up Helly Aa winter tour I co-lead here in Shetland for Shetland Nature with my good pal Kate to look forward to. There are still some places available if you fancy a wild and wintery #Shetland adventure with us. www.shetlandnature.net/holidays/she...

A break from writing today for a short local walk near my Shetland home - hoping for a decent late migrant bird, Woodcock the best I could manage. But delighted to find Smoky Spindles, a fine grassland coral fungus, the first time I’ve seen this on the isle. #FungusFriday

Am seriously excited at the prospect of joining my @mariposanature.bsky.social co-leader, János Oláh, in August 2026 for the Romania Mammal tour operated by his superb company, Saker Tour. A few places remain available to join us... sakertour.com/mammal-watch...

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. This week features Small Copper, a feisty little creature that could pick a fight in an empty room. IRL it settles for defending its territory against all airborne insects, chasing all away. #butterflies

Did I just see a Common Crane fly over on Celebrity Traitors? 🧐

Well that was pretty darned awesome. BABAKINA!!! analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/2025/11/chas...

When it comes to #orchids, Rhodes really is the island that keeps on giving. There are dozens of Ophrys bee orchid species to be seen there, and the variation within some of those is considerable. Here are a few Ophrys reinholdii from recent years. I find them seriously addictive!

Someone should write a novel about this. www.amazon.co.uk/Woodcock-Ric...

Many of our butterfly tours, like this week's featured tour of the week, Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain, also encounter #orchids. Always a happy find, nobody's day was ever made worse by seeing one of these beauties! mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Cymbidium sauve (Grass-leaf Cymbidium / snake orchid) at Corunna, NSW. Wasn't sure there would be a lot of flowers out this year with very little rain at home recently - but 2 of the 3 plants on the road in are looking great (despite being munched a little by some of the smaller locals!) #orchids

An update to the update... Our Orchids of Rhodes tour for 2027, the ultimate exploration of the island's #orchids with two of Europe's keenest orchid-hunters, is now half full! Six places remain to book to join us, but we don't anticipate those remaining available for long...

Until recently I used to do my own thing chasing orchids around Europe. Then I did the Rhodes trip with #Mariposa_Nature The quantity and variety of orchids found by #thenewgalaxy and #dunnjons were amazing. Subsequently I've booked 2 in the past year and 3 for next year. Do it!

It's always a joy to read the latest journal from @hardyorchidsociety.bsky.social. The latest issue is packed with interesting articles - and our advert for 2026! Some updates on those tours: 🌼 Orchids of Cyprus is now fully booked. 🌼 Late Spring Orchids of Sicily - 1 place remains. (1/3)

At first glance on my walk this afternoon, it didn’t seem like much was in flower but upon closer inspection I soon spotted twelve in bloom for the start of #thewinter10, the #wildflowerhour challenge for the winter months. See ALT for names ☺️

A very welcome sight here at home in #Shetland lately - only the second house record of Jackdaw in some 25 years here. What began as one bird grew, over three days, to eleven birds present. And then, suddenly, they'd all moved on.

Isn't nature wonderful? Compelling, complex, and beautiful. And proof positive, not that any were needed, that suggestions of some things being 'hateful parasites' says a lot more about those making the accusations in the first place. 🙄

Good morning! Our featured Tours of the Week this month will have a Spanish theme, celebrating the arrival of Spanish butterfly legend Miguel López Munguira in Team Mariposa. This week, Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain... (1/3) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Ophrys ortuabis is a lovely endemic #orchid we'll see on our Orchids of Sardinia tour next April. Discovered as recently as 2002 by by Lucia Manca & Nino Mura, a couple from the town of Oristano, their story is told in 'Ortuabis', a short film by Vincenzo Rodi: (1/2) youtube.com/watch?v=oQSo...

Good morning, and hello November! There's just one month left on our early bird deal for 2026 holidays, offering £150 off the list price of any week-long tour if booked before 1 Dec 2025. Bee orchids, birds, butterflies (or bears!), we've lots of choice! mariposanature.com/calendar #nature

We are so excited to announce that Spain's preeminent butterfly authority, Miguel López Munguira, is now part of Team Mariposa! Miguel's vast knowledge and experience will enhance our existing Spanish tours; and he's also designing some new tours. We're over the moon! (1/2)

Halloween aside, I don’t long too much for spooky encounters but finding a Ghost #Orchid here in the UK was one I craved for over three decades

🎃 Trick or treat?! It's Halloween, and we have a HUGE announcement to make later on today! 🎃 There's a clue in the images here... #butterflies @europebutterfly.bsky.social

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features White-letter and Black Hairstreak - the former remains fairly widespread in England & Wales, the latter has declined in the past century and is a significant British rarity. #butterflies

Today seems like a good day for a ghost story... 🧵 The first Ghost Orchid to be recorded in Britain was found in July 1854 by Mrs Anderton Smith in Herefordshire. Not recognising it, she picked it, and it was sent away to be identified. (1/12) (This image, from 1978, c/o A.Wake)

Fritillaries of many kinds abound on our featured tour this week, Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees. Here are a couple (Spotted & False Heath) kindly shared by one of our guests this year. Our guests have plenty of time and space with which to pursue the perfect portrait! #naturephotography

I’ve seen some beautiful grassland fungi for #WildFungiHour in the last few days. 🔁 from top left Mealy Pinkgill, Dark Fieldcap, Parrot Waxcaps, Persistent Waxcaps looking like flowers, Blackening Waxcaps, Poppies for #WildflowerHour & lastly gorgeous Crimson & Scarlet Waxcaps🥰

It's #SeaSlugDay, you say? Have a Grey Sea Slug (a travesty of an English misnomer for Aeolidia papillosa) busily eating alive a hapless Beadlet Anemone that, short-changed by evolution, couldn't run away from it. Nature red in tooth and claw (and wobbly stuff) in a rockpool on #Shetland in 2021.

One of the Harlequins Ducks I found a few weeks ago has settled down on a quiet little beach in North West Donegal and I was really fortunate to spend a bit of time with it recently. Fingers crossed now that it stays for the winter, what a glorious sight it will be in a few months.

Violet Copper is just one of the highlights guests on our Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees can look forward to seeing. These glorious images were kindly shared with us by one of our regular guests, Clive B. We love seeing our guests' photos, and hope you do too. #eastcoastkin #butterflies

One for today's #BirdOfTheDay 'Pairs Of The Same Bird' I rarely can photograph two birds together where they are both in focus but this one isn't too bad! ☺️ 🪶 📷 Happy Tuesday everyone 🌿 🕊️👋 #birds #photography #Nature #UKWildlife #EastCoastKin #TwosDay

The opportunities for photography, or simply enjoying the burgeoning butterfly show, are endless here in a beautiful region of France that's bursting into life in late May. And naturally, this tour generates a donation to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (2/2)

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees - this one's an outstanding opportunity for the butterfly photographer, so fresh and numerous and varied are the species to be found. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

On the subject of endemic island butterflies, guests on our Fabulous Fuerteventura tour next February can expect to enjoy close views of the island's very own charming endemic, Fuerteventura Green-striped White. mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

Enjoying a long weekend away in the Derbyshire Dales and taking plenty of opportunities to check out the Grassland #Fungi round here! #Waxcaps and Spindles galore, and many other #chegd beauties too! Thoroughly enjoying the #WildFungiHour

Hugely enjoyable AGM yesterday of the European Butterflies Group in Birmingham - great to catch up with so many friends, swap butterfly observations, and lay plans for the future. A presentation on Atlantic island endemism by Martin Davies was particularly thought-provoking and inspiring...

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day on which we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features Purple Hairstreak, a glorious species that spends much of its life around the canopy of its larval foodplant, oak, looking in flight like silver coins spinning high overhead.

Every autumn, millions of animals migrate south in search of warmer climes in which to overwinter. Sadly, some don’t survive the journey. Migration is a testing time for the young and inexperienced. This Morrisons trolley won’t reach its wintering grounds, nor return to breed next spring.

A small selection of the beautiful butterflies and orchids we see on our Italian mainland and island tours, to brighten a grey and stormy day here in the UK. We love Italy and, with our superb network of local naturalists there, are expanding our range of tours across the country. Watch this space!

Morning... #FungiFriends

Thought for the day - if Great Crested Flycatcher can make it to Shetland then a White-eyed Vireo east of the Azores is not unthinkable - macaulaylibrary.org/asset/26938441 neither tyrants nor vireos are regular on boats #UKBirding

Aren't robberflies amazing? Large, fast, predatory flies that inject their prey with a paralysing and digestive neurotoxin, then suck out the liquified contents. Yum. We saw this fine example on an #orchid in Rhodes this year. Looking forward to what we find there next spring...

Our current tour of the week, Fabulous Fuerteventura - Birds, Butterflies & Botany, has now moved to become a guaranteed departure. Also guaranteed is our early bird booking deal - an automatic £150 off the tour's list price if booked before 1 Dec 2025. mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

A tiny young Oakbug Milkcap fungi caught my eye in the woodland as the sun highlighted fresh latex exuding from it! 📷 🌿 🍄 Happy Monday everyone 🕊️ #FungiFriends #MacroMonday #Photography #Fungi #EastCoastKin #MushroomMonday #Nature #ShroomScrolling

Churchyards are important for fungi, including some of the UK's rarest This webinar will introduce UK fungi and their roles in the natural environment Chris Knowles is a field mycologist and member of his local fungus group He works at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh cataloguing the fungi collection

There's a huge variety of fascinating birds, butterflies & plants (not to mention dragonflies and other beasties) to be seen there - every day is full of interest. And the tour is led by our popular and knowledgeable duo of Dave Fairhurst & @jpcancela.bsky.social - a dream team! (2/2)

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Fabulous Fuerteventura - Birds, Butterflies & Botany. Set to run on 22-28 February 2026, it offers a welcome break from the cold, wet monotony of a northern European winter... (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

Another excellent field meeting with the Huntingdonshire Flora Group at Wakerley Woods - four of my favourite finds were a tiny Earthy Powdercap, richly-coloured Larch Boletes, a perfect specimen of Plums-and-Custard on a pine stump and masses of Hare's-ear. #mushroommonday 📷🍄

Helvella crispa and a few members of a foray being led by members of the Mid-Yorkshire Fungus Group in the rain at Harlow Carr today.

"The prickly seed-shucks of the chestnut have fallen and burst open, some of them spilling the brown conkers out of the soft linings that have contained and nourished them“ Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer: EL Grant Watson