Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 1hIt was glorious weather to enjoy a breathtaking walk along the cliff tops to Old Harry Rocks, Purbeck today. This Hawkweed was perched right on the cliff edge peeping over at the sparkling blue sea below. #wildflowerhour 0150
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 1hExploring King Barrow Quarry, Portland I walked along a deep channel betweeen the rocks and saw an incredible tree doing what nature does best - finding a way to survive in tough conditions. As the walls opened up, I spotted this beautiful Ivy Broomrape nestled in a secluded corner. #wildflowerhour 0312
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 1hSome #fruits with a berry good view! Blackberries growing alongside the fabulous Fleet, and Hawthorn berries overlooking the spectacular sweep of Chesil Beach from a lofty vantage point on Portland. #WildflowerHour 0121
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 2hSome heavenly heather for #wildflowerhour - both the hot pink Bell Heather and the more pastel toned Common Heather. I'd not realised before what prominent styles Heather has - very perky indeed, all the better for ensuring pollination I guess. 🩷 And a stunning Red Banded Sand Wasp an added bonus. 0170
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 5hA bonus transect walk at Lorton Meadows yesterday - still lots of Clouded Yellow, incl helice. And some very smart, fresh looking Small Copper, aside from the one pictured left, centre row, who, though faded and raggedy was still full of feisty Small Copper energy. 🦋 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 1130
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Happy #FungiFriday! 🍄🍄🟫 I enjoyed a wonderful tranquil walk in the woods last weekend. Still very warm & dry in Dorset but some #fungi emerging now, particularly russula, with the promise of more to come as autumn progresses. Some lovely brackets too, including this Blushing Bracket. 😍 #FungiFriends 1200
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Some fab #insects seen over the last week incl Long Hoverfly, 7-spot Ladybird, Grey Bushcricket, Common Groundhopper, Devils Coach-horse Beetle & ?? Beetle, Small Heath, Common Blue, Small Copper & Clouded Yellow butterflies & a gorgeous Dragonfly from last month. #wildwebswednesday #insectthursday 3220
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026My favourite flower of the week was this tiny (and rather appropriately named) Small Scabious. Perched up on an exposed plateau at Tout Quarry, Portland, the stem of this diminutive specimen was just 1.5cm tall (about the width of my finger) topped with a gorgeous purple flower. 💜 #wildflowerhour 37510
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026For the #wildflowerhour challenge a couple of weeks ago, I was very taken with the #seedheads of Agrimony. On Thursday they caught my eye again. Now deep red to brown - still beautiful but the dry brown ones are now ready to travel and these hooked burrs seem particularly attracted to my socks! 😂 0392
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026For #wildflowerhour today, I thought I'd compile a collage of the cheeriest yellow flowers I've seen this week - floral sunshine for a grey day. Here are Autumn Hawkbit, Agrimony, Gorse, Common Toadflax, Creeping Buttercup, Ragwort, Bristly Oxtongue, Tormentil, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Fleabane. 💛 0324
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Had a interesting encounter with my fave #butterfly at Lorton Meadows, Weymouth. 🦋 Could this be Small Copper courtship with the wing fluttering akin to batting eyelashes? Or perhaps it's a go-away message? Does anyone speak Small Copper? @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social 3241
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026A hot, sunny walk at Lorton Meadows today for my last Butterfly Transect of the year. 🦋 Lots of Clouded Yellow, plus Common Blue, Small Copper, Wall, Speckled Wood & Red Admiral. Plenty of other #insects and birds incl. Spotted Flycatcher. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social 0160
Reposted by Sarahsamcannonart @samcannonart.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Her heart was made of liquid sunsets. Virginia Woolf Have a wonderful autumn equinox. Treasure the light. Look forward to more time with the stars. 1406
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 20/09/2026A rather grey walk was brightened up by this glorious Chicory flower. I love blue flowers so had to stop for a closer look. The reproductive structures inside the flower are incredible - long blue & white striped tubes with branched tips curling out the top of each. Stunning. 💙 #wildflowerhour 415619
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 19/09/2026It's spider season! 🕷️ Garden Cross Spiders are sprinkled across my allotment now. They're common but it's worth stopping to admire their beautiful markings. And it seems a good time to look back and celebrate some other super spiders I've seen this year too. 🕸️ #ukwildlife #wildwebswednesday #spider 0130
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Probably no surprise that my #favouriteplant is the glorious Marsh Gentian. I love everything about them & this year they provided some extra magic. Watching as the sun set, it was incredible to see the gorgeous blue flowers close for the night, something I'd not observed before. 😍 #wildflowerhour 411919
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 13/09/2026In second place, my 2026 #wildflowerhour #favouriteplant is Green-winged #Orchid. The flowers are endlessly variable & so beautiful. Being surrounded by so many, with a great sea view, in the glow of the evening sun is just heavenly. I am so lucky to live near by and I can't wait for next year. 😍 0342
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Reflecting on my #favouriteplant of 2026, this Pale Flax comes in third place. Not rare and just growing in the verge - they didn't look like much from across the road, but I went over for a closer look and I'm soooo glad I did, what an unexpected treat - such beautiful flowers. 😍 #wildflowerhour 0343
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Painted Lady #butterflies are beautiful from every angle. Vibrant colours on top, delicate markings underneath. Gorgeous! 🦋 Double figures in my allotment these last 2 weeks, nectaring on Buddleia & later in the day resting, wings closed, near invisible on the path. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 3264
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026A week late for the #seedheads #wildflowerhour challenge, but I spotted these awesome Agrimony spikes whilst doing my butterfly transect and they are too fab not to share. 😍 How have I not noticed these before?! 🫣 1664
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026A joyful morning in West Dorset on Tuesday immersed in Autumn Ladies Tresses #Orchids, Clouded Yellow butterflies & amazing views. 😍 ALT may spiral clockwise or anticlockwise, apparently 2/3 favour the former. But how do you determine the direction - from top down, or bottom up?? 🤔 #wildflowerhour 2615
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Things are definitely getting fruity around here!! A short walk today resulted in 15 sp with berries, #fruits or nuts, plus 3 deer bursting out of the hedge! My favourite for this week's #wildflowerhour challenge - the beautiful berries of Bittersweet in the full range of traffic light colours! 😍 1495
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Wonderful weather for my #Butterfly Transect walk at Lorton Meadows, Weymouth today. The yellow Ragwort & Fleabane attracting many gorgeous Clouded Yellow, plus Common Blue and my favourite butterflies the fabulously feisty Small Copper. 🦋 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social 0282
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Beautiful artwork (as always) from @samcannonart.bsky.social - a perfect celebration of Autumn colours to welcome the coming season. 🍂 🧡 040
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Some other favourite #seedheads 😍 A branch of Sea Lavender with a single bloom amongst the seedheads The long, splayed seedpods of Birds-foot Trefoil - these were huge! The gorgeous orb of a scabious seedhead Lighting up the heath - the flamboyant orange beacon of Bog Asphodel. #wildflowerhour 2888
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Thrift is such a pretty plant whether in flower with gorgeous pink flowers or after the petals have dropped leaving lovely #seedheads - each made up of many papery white cups forming a globe. Lots seen today interspersed with a few pink flowers brightening an otherwise grey day. 🩷 #wildflowerhour 0618
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 30/08/2026I love how #wildflowerhour prompts me to look closely at things previously overlooked. Today was no exception! Sure Wild Carrot #Seedheads are brown but they are dramatic. Rays curled up into a cage & seeds with rows of hooked spines presumably to aid dispersal, by snagging passing animals. Fab. 😍 1374
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 26/08/2026This Green-veined White caught my eye with it's distinctive flight, before settling on Red Valerian. Easily overlooked, but worth taking a moment to enjoy these delicate butterflies. The light shows the dusky highlights of the veins giving the butterfly it's name. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 0363
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Slightly obsessed with Marsh Gentian at the moment, and (in the words of Depeche Mode) I just can't get enough! So took the opportunity to indulge in a visit to another local heathland this weekend - just glorious. 💙 #wildflowerhour 523729
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Been hot here, so very happy this week's #wildflowerhour challenge gave a perfect opportunity to go paddling in the river. Lots of #wallplants to enjoy incl Red Valerian, Hemp-Agrimony, Great Willowherb & Harts-tongue Fern. Also (from dry land) Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Mexican Fleabane and Ragwort. 🌸 0412
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Is there a better twig-a-like moth than this?! I love Buff Tip moths, fantastic birch-twig camouflage & that wonderfully fluffy head! 😍 This is the moth I most enjoy showing people new to moths - it's magical to see their reaction to these super cool moths. #teammoth #mothsmatter #mothfacefriday 1280
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 18/08/2026A celebration of Small Copper. 🦋 Thrilled to find my mint covered in my all-time favourite butterflies, busy nectaring. A recent emergence? Some lovely variety - classic bright orange to darker sooty tones & one with tiny pale dots on the hindwing. Just glorious. 🧡 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 311826
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 16/08/2026I love Sundews, they are such extraordinary plants. As #CommonNames go, this one is perfect - in the sun those sticky, deadly beads glimmer like dew, luring unwary insects to an untimely death. This Sundew was one of many I enjoyed seeing on the Purbeck Heaths. So beautiful. 💚 #Wildflowerhour 660663
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 16/08/2026An exciting discovery for me this week - growing in between my raspberries, a lovely patch of self-seeded Strawberry Clover. Not a quirky #commonname but perfectly descriptive - I love these swollen pink orbs, and very happy to find they seem to like my heavy clay soil. 🩷 #wildflowerhour 1331
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 15/08/2026A butterfly-tastic stroll in Bowers Quarry, Portland this afternoon. 🦋 Parched, like everywhere, but plenty to see incl Clouded Yellow, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Peacock, Grayling & blues: Chalkhill, Adonis, Common & Holly! Plus Hummingbird Hawk-moth & fab views! 😍 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 1301
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Happy World Honey Bee Day! 🐝 I saw this lovely Honey #Bee, literally knee deep, in the disc florets of an enormous Sunflower - her legs and body dusted in golden pollen. One of thousands of Sunflowers (and indeed bees) at the incredible Sunflower Trail, Maiden Castle Farm, Dorset. 🌻🌻🌻 #insects 190
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 12/08/2026A wonderfully tranquil evening at my Weymouth allotment yesterday, but look a bit closer and the peace belies much hustle and bustle with every plant, nook and cranny supporting activity for an array of fabulous tiny creatures. @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social #wildwebswednesday #insects 1182
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 09/08/2026This particlar Marsh Gentian had three open flowers and one bud waiting to open. A spectacular floral firework of blue erupting from the heath. And then, as the sun began to set, the open flowers began to close, until they were tightly wrapped up for the night. Sweet dreams! 💤 #wildflowerhour 311717
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 09/08/2026When reviewing my pics of Marsh Gentian, I spotted a teeny caterpillar on the style. 🐛 Sadly not in focus, but can anyone help with ID, please? Also, one flower well munched by an unknown perpetrator - just a tiny cup left. #wildflowerhour @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 1150
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 09/08/2026A magical evening spent on the Purbeck Heaths in the company of one of my very favourite flowers - Marsh Gentian. I love everything about them - the colour, a gorgeous deep blue; the fabulous funnel shape; and the beautiful interior, sporting spots and stripes. Just wonderful. 💙 #wildflowerhour 66810
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Is there anything more joyful than a Hummingbird Hawk-moth nectaring in a field of sunflowers? 💛 This spectacular field at Maiden Castle Farm, Dorchester and was abuzz with pollinators, with 3 Clouded Yellow also seen hurtling past! @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social #teammoth 3454
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 06/08/2026WOW!!! What a fab visitor to my moth trap. A stunning Poplar Hawk-moth, with a gorgeous infusion of purple on the wings. I love how they hold their wings, and curl the tip of their abdomen up, banana-style, like a seal. 😍 @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social #teammoth #insects 1373
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 02/08/2026My favourite flower #ByTheSea this week has got to be the beautifully delicate Common Sea-lavender growing on Chesil Beach. Erect stems sprinkled with gorgeous purple flowers, interspersed with little white cups that tell of past blooms. A lovely flower in a lovely location. 💜 #wildflowerhour 214413
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 02/08/2026For #WildflowerHour today, I visited Chesil Beach to find plants #ByTheSea. So much to see, incl Sea Mayweed, Greater Knapweed, Vipers Bugloss, Common Restharrow, Glasswort, Thrift, Rock Samphire, Sea Aster, Sea Purslane, Sea-blite, Birds-Foot Trefoil & Common Ragwort. @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social 05810
Reposted by SarahMary McIntyre @marymcintyreastro.bsky.social · 02/08/2026I've just published a detailed video covering how to observe and photograph the deep #PartialsolarEclipse and the #Perseids #MeteorShower on 12th August 2026. Timestamps for each part are in the description box. Watch here: youtu.be/ZTwRaAbYvag 272
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Always happy for extra excuses to spend time enjoying butterflies - thank you #BigButterflyCount! Did a 15 min count at my allotment - 7 species seen. Large & Small White, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock & (too quick for pic) Silver Y moth. Lovely. 🦋 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social 1162
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 30/07/2026My moth trap was massively out-competed by the moon but a fluffy Sallow Kitten made up for low numbers. Fun unexpected visitors were a gorgeous green non-biting midge (? ID welcome) & LOADS of adorable Lesser Water Boatmen. @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social #teammoth #insects 1273
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Fab to see lots of Silver Y moths at my allotment nectaring on Dianthus - the long proboscis probing deep. Not an unusual moth but often only seen as a blur with its speedy flight & buzzing wings. Was a treat to get such good views. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social #teammoth 0345
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026I have a confession...I've paid little attention to Docks since childhood when I'd search out leaves as a salve for nettle stings. But I sat on a bench today & noticed this wonderful Dock. Wow! A column of beautiful fruiting tepals with teeth, encompassing shiny, pink tubercles. 😍 #wildflowerhour 3492
Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026The ultimate bog plant for me - Sundews. 😍 Rosettes of leaves, each with a halo of shimmering sticky beads which spell death for tiny insects, but they are undeniably beautiful. And the flowers stems uncurling as they push elegantly upwards. #wildflowerhour #wetlandplants #internationalbogday2026 117519
