A bit of #LadybirdYearList admin catch up! 📝🐞 3️⃣ Harlequin Ladybird 4️⃣ Cream-spot Ladybird 5️⃣ 10-spot Ladybird 6️⃣ 14-spot Ladybird Lots of 7-spot Ladybirds everywhere I go too! #UKLadybirds #Ladybird

What a wonderfully uplifting afternoon! Sunshine, warmth and lots of insects whizzing about. I wonder if there’s a word to describe the joy brought by the arrival of spring? This unusually approachable Brimstone was a highlight. #DailyNature #Butterfly #Spring #JoyofNature

Toothwort looking magnificent for this week’s #WildflowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social #DailyNature

First garden moth trap of the year resulted in a pile of middle-sized brown moths! Let’s see how many I can remember from last year… 🤔 #MothsMatter #TeamMoth #DailyNature

The Tulip of Doom 🕷️ @britishspiders.bsky.social #spider #DailyNature

It’s great to have Dark-edged Bee-flies whizzing around in the spring sunshine again. Super fluffy! #BeeFlyWatch #DailyNature

It’s only March and this Dartford Warbler is already auditioning for Christmas cards! #DailyNature #Birds #Heathland

Earlier, this Blue Tit gave me a “Don’t you dare take my photo and post it as a #DailyNature” look! Sorry Blue Tit! 🙂

I was out for a heathland walk with a school group earlier and after we’d spotted lots of 7-spot Ladybirds, one of the children saw this fab little Heather Ladybird 🐞 Top nature detectives! #UKLadybirds #Ladybird #DailyNature

This Goldfinch was in my garden earlier, feasting on the Evening Primrose seeds from last year. It demonstrates the benefits of not cutting the old plants back too early. #DailyNature #Bird #WildlifeGardening

Just a little bit of sun was enough to bring out the bumblebees on my local heath! ☀️ 🐝 This Early Bumblebee queen (Bombus pratorum) is showing the value of Gorse for nectar at this time of year. It’s great to have #DailyNature back to celebrate the impending arrival of spring! 🌼

I was taking a school group around their local heathland and one of the children spotted this striking mushroom. I think it’s Verdigris Navel, which seems to be seldomly spotted. Can anyone confirm and I’ll let the school know they’ve got a champ nature spotter! 🍄‍🟫 #FungiFriday #FungiFriends

My first encounter with the wonderfully named Crystal Brain Fungus! 🧠 🍄‍🟫 #Fungi #FungiFriday #FungiFriends

This Chiffchaff was enjoying the sunny weather yesterday at WWT Arundel. It was so uplifting to be out underneath blue skies! ☀️ #UKbirds #bird

I found the brilliantly blue Cobalt Crust for only the second time this afternoon. I was leading a nature walk on a local heathland and audibly squeaked with excitement when I saw it! 🍄‍🟫💙 #FungiFriends #FungiFriday #Heathland #Fungi

Looking closely at nature always reveals something wonderful - Like this mini-ecosystem on a pine cone! It’s always exciting to find the wonderfully-named Ear-pick Fungus 🍄‍🟫 #FungiFriends #FungiFriday #Mycology #Fungi

It feels like a slow start to my 2026 #LadybirdYearList! 🐞 2️⃣ Heather Ladybird (Chilocorus bipustulatus) in a nearby churchyard. It was in such an awkward place for a photo on the underside of a gravestone - but well protected from the seemingly incessant rain. Good job! ☔️ #UKLadybirds

By the look on the face of the fish (a Blenny, I think), this Shag has caused significant annoyance! #BirdOfTheDay #FeedingTime #TitchfieldHaven

For the past couple of days there has been a Redpoll hanging around in the Silver Birch in the garden. It’s lovely to look out the window and see it going about its business. Its business is mostly eating! I feel like we’re really getting to know each other 😊

Up and running with my 2026 #LadybirdYearList! 🐞 1️⃣ 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) on my local heathland. What a great place for an over-winter snooze! #UKLadybirds

A chilly #NewYearPlantHunt with the family! ❄️ 🌼 It’s my daughter’s 3rd year of joining in and she enjoyed taking a close look at tiny hazel flowers with her magnifying glass 🔍 🌸 We found 19 species in flower and a bonus Blackcap eating Mistletoe berries. Great fun! @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Just managed to sneak a final #DailyNatire in before the end of the year! Frosty spiderweb on my local heathland. I’m so glad it’s properly wintry now ❄️ @britishspiders.bsky.social

Gorse flowers always add a beautiful glow to a winter #heathland walk. I was particularly taken by the delicate water droplets on the petals here. #Wildflowerhour #DailyNature @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

I had to do a double-take when I saw this Red Admiral sunbathing this afternoon! It’s always uplifting to spot a #butterfly, and this was a lovely December surprise. @savebutterflies.bsky.social #DailyNature

A Collared Earthstar for #FungiFriday. Only the third time I’ve encountered one, so very exciting. Possibly the trickiest alt text I’ve ever tried to write and I’m not sure I did it justice! #DailyNature

I encountered what I think is Insect Egg Slime Mould (Leocarpus fragilis) on a heathland wander this afternoon. I must learn more about slime moulds! #DailyNature

There’s still a little bit of purple to be found on a heathland wander! #WildflowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Blue Fleabane on a Surrey heathland for this week’s #WildflowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Since I saw a picture in a book a couple of years ago, I’ve been looking all over the place for Cobalt Crust. I finally spotted it in a neighbour’s front garden this afternoon! What an amazing colour 💙 I wonder how many times I’ve walked past it 🍄‍🟫 #FungiFriday #FungiFriends #DailyNature #Fungi

I was quite surprised to find some Heath Speedwell flowering on a local Hampshire heathland this week! #WildflowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

This Kingfisher perched on a post in front of me for about a millisecond - long enough for one mostly in-focus photo. What an amazing bird, but a bit too whizzy for my slow reaction time! #DailyNature #Bird #Kingfisher

I finally managed to find my first ever Magpie Inkcap at the wonderful Ebernoe Common in Sussex. I’ve been looking on and off for a few years, so I let out an audible “whoop” when I saw it! #FungiFriends #FungiFriday @britmycolsoc.org.uk #Mushroom

Fencepost Jumping Spider… on a fence, but not jumping! 🕷️ @britishspiders.bsky.social #Spider #Arachtober

A beautiful Peacock #butterfly drifted past me and then paused for a precious moment on a bramble leaf. Its presence warmed me as much as the late afternoon sunshine warmed its delicate wings. @savebutterflies.bsky.social #DailyNature

On the second day of #Arachtober my true love sent to me… a Daddy Long-legs Spider drinking juice from two ladybirds 🐞🕷️🎶 @britishspiders.bsky.social #Spider #Ladybird

On the first day of #Arachtober my true love sent to me… a Fencepost Jumping Spider in my bathroom sink! 🕷️🚰 Not sure this adaptation of a classic festive song is going to catch on… but worth a go! 🎶 @britishspiders.bsky.social #Spider #JumpingSpider

Fringed Water-lily on a heathland pond. I went for arty - not quite sure I pulled it off! #WildflowerHour #DailyNature @bsbibotany.bsky.social

I found this Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing #moth in the bathroom. It challenged me to a staring competition… and won. I think not having eyelids is probably cheating! #DailyNature @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Number 1️⃣2️⃣ for the #LadybirdYearList is this bright yellow 22-spot Ladybird munching on mildew in the garden If I ever form a band (I won’t!) our first album would definitely be called Munching on Mildew! 💿🐞 #DailyNature #Ladybird

I spotted a Kestrel hunting worms in a field 🪱 Never seen that before! It also showed me its fancy feathered trousers! #DailyNature #Birds #BirdsOfPrey #Kestrel #Worm #FoodChain

I wonder if this Small Copper was aware just how close it was to major peril! 🐝🕷️🍴 #DailyNature #Butterfly #Spider @britishspiders.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Some blackberries came out of the freezer earlier on their way into a welcoming crumble. I don’t think I’ve ever looked closely at frozen blackberries before - a beautiful collection of ice crystals. #DailyNature

I almost sat on this #shieldbug earlier! I think it’s a Bronze Shieldbug final instar nymph. #DailyNature #Pentatomidae @britishbugs.bsky.social

This Crab Spider is generously offering free cuddles to passing insects. No takers so far! #DailyNature #Heathland #Heather #CrabSpider #Spider @britishspiders.bsky.social

Stonechat making the most of the sunshine in the short gaps between showers ☀️☔️ #DailyNature #Heathland #Bird

A snoozy Buff-tailed Bumblebee mulls over its plans for the day ahead. A quick gulp of #heather nectar would be the perfect start! #DailyNature #Bumblebee #Heathland #Ling

The stunning pink of a late summer #heathland landscape provides the perfect background for insect photography. This Common Blue Damselfly spent a moment resting on this Common Heather. #Odonata #Damselfly #DailyNature @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

Found a fab Wasp Spider on my local #heathland this morning. It was just collecting its thoughts, when a Sand Digger Wasp got stuck in the web. The speed the wasp was incapacitated and spun into a silken bundle was amazing! 🕷️🕸️ #spider #DailyNature @britishspiders.bsky.social

I was playing Lego with my 2-year old daughter and she said “What is this?” pointing to something tiny wandering across the floor. On closer inspection, I think it might be an Ant-nest Ladybird. I should get her looking for more 🐞🐞 Number 1️⃣1️⃣ for the #LadybirdYearList @andrew-jewels.bsky.social

My attention was caught by a 7-spot #Ladybird, but as I got closer, I noticed a far smaller species - a fab Adonis’s Ladybird! The great thing about looking closely at nature is that you often spot something smaller and equally amazing 😀🐞 Number 🔟 for the #LadybirdYearList #DailyNature