Went looking for fungi in the woods this morning, but instead found this magnificent Fallow Deer skull. Wow ! #deer #skull

The miniature world of a springtail (probably Isotomurus palustris, although there are other similar species). On the stamen of a Lesser Celandine. #insect #springtail #Collembola

Two tiny signs of spring from this morning’s walk around the village. Female Hazel flower (Corylus avellana) and Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) #spring #wildflower

I’ve never really thought about what pollinates Mistletoe flowers - until today. Several small flies (Lesser Housefly perhaps) attracted to these barely open flowers today. #fly #pollinator #mistletoe

Looking very springlike in Dorset for #thewinter10 this week. Happy to see the first strange green Mistletoe and female Hazel flowers starting to open. See ALT text for details @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

Beautiful but tiny female Hazel flowers.

I love the strangeness of Mistletoe flowers - just starting to open.

It’s a Raven day 🖤

Again out looking at lichens on ancient stones, this time Kingston Russell Stone Circle. I was surprised by the rich lichen cover (moss and algae too) on these low lying stones in a field of curious cows. Mostly crustose lichens except in a few well protected crevices. #lichen

I didn’t go looking for fungi today, but it found me anyway ! Netted Crust fungus (Byssomerulius corium), Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes) and Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) all in a Dorset hedge #fungi #fungifriends

Common but beautiful. This lovely Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) stood out in today’s gloom. #fungi #fungifriends

Too cloudy, here in Dorset, for photos of tonight’s full moon - so here’s lasts nights ‘nearly full moon’.

Another damp Dorset #thewinter10 this weeks highlight, Dog’s Mercury. see ALT text for details @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), a harbinger of spring, found along an ancient hedgerow today. 1/2/26

Snowdrops or raindrops. Looking lovely in a break between showers.

Apparently my new vacuum cleaner is designed for cleaning fertile low-lying grassy plains on the sand dunes of the Outer Hebrides 😉😂 (niche post)

A very wet #thewinter10 this week. Flowers from Dorset and Surrey. This week’s highlight, Wood Avens (Geum urbanum) see ALT text for details @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

I meant to post this video too - Collared earthstar (Geastrum triplex) - I can never resist giving them a squeeze 😁 #fungi #FungiFriends

Collared earthstar (Geastrum triplex). Surrey 23/1/26 #fungi #FungiFriends

Celebrating ten back to back winter tens this week (I think I’ve done eleven actually but here are the last ten) #thewinter10 . It’s amazing how much has been in flower over the past ten weeks. See ALT text for details (I think I have all 56) @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

I’ve been home this weekend, so it was a case of dodging the showers and searching the local Dorset hedgerows for #thewinter10 this week. see ALT text for details @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

Some nice close-ups of that beautiful green Xanthoria parietina. On a wet and shady stile in Dorset. #lichen

Xanthoria parietina, usually bright yellow, appears green in shady conditions because it reduces production of its yellow UV-protective pigment (parietin), allowing its green algal partner (Trebouxia) to show through. On a wet stile in Dorset. #lichen

It’s a Raven Day 🖤

A beautiful start to the day at the Nine Stones circle in Dorset - indulging my new rather niche hobby, lichens on ancient stones. The stones are home to a fair number of crustose (crust-like) and leprose (powdery) lichen species. #lichen

Two little bursts of fungal colour in the garden today - Coral Spot (Nectria cinnabarina) and Common Jelly Spot (Dacrymyces stillatus). #fungus #FungusFriends

Excited to see the first Holly flowers starting to open, with loads more, in various stages of bud, on their way !! #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #holly

The hedgerows and roadsides of the Surrey/Hampshire border for #thewinter10 this week. Delighted to see the first Holly flowers emerging with plenty more to come 🤍 see ALT text for details @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

View from The Knoll, Puncknowle, Dorset 6/1/26 #dorset

An urban theme for my #thewinter10 this week, at an abandoned industrial site in Port Talbot, South Wales. Mostly natives but some naturalised escapees. See ALT text for details. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

The moon is so bright tonight it’s hard to photograph anything else with my phone/scope setup, but this is Jupiter and four of its moons 😮 #moon #jupiter

Tonight’s beautiful ‘near as damn it’ full moon #moon

The amazing lichen on one Alder tree, at a former industrial site in South Wales - fabulous. #lichen

Talk about being unlucky in life. I just saw this rather beautiful leucistic Pheasant - it might as well have been born with a target on its back ! #bird #leucistic #pheasant

One wildlife photo I’ve taken for each month of 2025. Happy New Year. See ALT text for details. #wildlife #NYE

Sometimes nature just likes to remind me what a beautiful planet I live on (and what a beautiful valley I’m lucky enough to live in) 😍 3.50pm 30/12/25 Dorset #beautiful #dorset

Tonight’s lovely moon, taken just after sunset at around 4.15pm. Which exposure do you prefer? #moon

I was surprised and delighted to find Honeysuckle in flower this weekend. Around the Dorset hedgerows for my #thewinter10 See ALT text for details. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

The lichens of Avebury looking lovely. A beautiful but very cold day. 27/12/25 #lichen #Avebury #stones

Lichen fruiting bodies (most likely Tephromela atra). Valley of Stones, Dorset 26/12/25 #lichen #dorset

A very unusual opportunity to get a good close look at the rare and wonderful lichens of Stonehenge, thanks to open access for the Winter Solstice. I love how everyone was there for their own reasons, and this was one of mine. 21/12/25 #stonehenge #lichen @englishheritage.bsky.social

Around the village hedgerows for #thewinter10 Some new things in flower this week. See ALT text for details. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

What a beautiful experience (lovely weather too). Celebrating the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge at dawn this morning #stonehenge

Always worth a walk on the beach after a storm. I love the vibrant colours of the Portuguese man o' war. Always great to see Goose Barnacles, and is that a non-native Striped barnacle (Amphibalanus amphitrite)? #beach #beachcombing

Another beautiful slime mould (Badhamia utricularis I think) #slimemould #slimemold

Slime mould Craterium minutum on a Hawthorn leaf. Also with a fifty pence piece for scale. #slimemould #slimemold

I can never resist stopping if I’m nearby, and lovely and quiet this time of year. #stonehenge

This beautiful Common Chickweed flower, my favourite of this week’s #thewinter10 . Such a delicate and tiny flower in mid-December. #WildFlowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

All these #thewinter10 in bloom, on one (large) roundabout on the A35 in Dorset ! I stopped because I saw the Scabious , all the rest was a bonus 😀 See ALT text for details. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A very tiny Botryosporium sp. (maybe B. longibrachiatum), growing on a decaying houseplant. Each fruiting body 1-2 mm long. #fungi #FungiFriends