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worcsorchids.bsky.social

@worcsorchids.bsky.social
160 followers 153 following 208 posts

British wild orchids, Dragonflies, Wildlife gardening, Hillwalking

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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Late September birds on the Cromarty Firth, on the NE coast of Scotland: Oystercatchers and a large raft of Eider ducks.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
A final few from late September in the Highlands of Scotland: varied colours of Devil's-bit Scabious and very late Red Clover. And no plant pics from the Highlands would be complete without Rowan - and Heather! #WildflowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Late September and a long way from anywhere in the wild & wonderful NW Highlands of Scotland, on the road from Dingwall west to Ullapool. But nowhere is too remote for Ragwort to grow! #WildflowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thanks! Amanita muscaria was the one I did know, the common name in the UK for that fungus is Fly Agaric. Having searched online for the others you suggested, yes they do seem right for the habitat.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Some forest floor fungi from a late September walk in mixed pine/deciduous forest, northern Scotland. I know the Fly Agaric in pic 1 but that's about where my fungi ID skills end! Any ideas please? I really should learn a few and autumn is the perfect time to start. #FungiFriday #FungiFriends
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Autumn hedgerow fruits etc. around the local patch: apples here and there from old orchards, blackberries not great this year - too dry. Ivy seemingly unstoppable as ever, a late bounty for autumn insects. Robin's Pincushion gall on a dog-rose stem - home to larvae of the gall wasp Diplolepis rosae.
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Gavin Durrant @gavindurrant1.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Barn owl transferring it's prey from beak to talon in the murk of the sea mist covered marshes yesterday evening
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Steven Wright @stevenwright58.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Common Darter in cop wheel ,Willow Emerald damselfly and a female Migrant Hawker dragonfly @warwickshirewt.bsky.social Brandon Marsh today. Very warm for the last day of September!!
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Alan Brown 71 @alanbrown71.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Visited Saltoun Forest today. Pics of 3 male perched Common Hawkers together (only got 2 together previously) and a single from another pond plus a male Black Darter and a record flight shot of male Southern Hawker @britishdragonflies.bsky.social @edinburghnats.bsky.social #Dragonflies #Lothian
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Good quantities of seeds and fruits along the Worcestershire lanesides, despite the very hot & dry summer. Horse-chestnuts (or to give them their proper name, conkers! 🙂) and Sycamore with its winged seeds; plenty of hips on the dog-roses.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Harvest Moon Halo: late on Saturday evening, a 22° halo around the Full Harvest Moon. The most common type of halo, formed by light refracted through randomly aligned ice crystals in the cirrus clouds.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Little Garve Bridge, built in 1767 on the new 'military road' west from Inverness to Poolewe on the west coast. Restored in 2007 but it was still looking good even before then - they built it to last!
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Some more wildflowers from the northern Highlands of Scotland, late September: yellow Bog Asphodel & more (ubiquitous!) Devil's-bit Scabious on the slopes of Beinn Alligin, Torridon. Harebells enjoying the well-drained stony verge of an historic bridge. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Summer 2026 in Northern Scotland wasn't hot and dry, quite the opposite, and the later September wildflowers were looking even better than usual. Drifts of Devil's-bit Scabious on a roadside verge in Wester Ross; Sea Rocket by the Cromarty Firth. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Zoom in on pic 1 and pic 4 and you may spot people at the summits, tiny specks on these mighty mountains. Glyder Fach is only 'small heap' because it's slightly lower than Glyder Fawr; both are in the 15 'Welsh 3000s'. Castell y Gwynt, looking like something from Tolkien, is 'castle of the winds'.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Late August in Snowdonia / Eryri NP, Wales: on to the last summit of the trip, Glyder Fawr ('big heap (of stones)'). Again extraordinary, the true summit is one of many vertical stone 'dragon's teeth'! Pic 1 looks back past Castell y Gwynt to Glyder Fach, pic 4 is Tryfan - left for another day... 🙂
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Late August in Snowdonia / Eryri NP, Wales: reaching the extraordinary shattered rocky plateau of Glyder Fach ('small heap (of stones)'), crowned by two heaps of huge, jumbled stone blocks. An entertaining climb up to the summit block, for views west (4th pic) to Glyder Fawr and Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I hope I get them right! (I do have some Welsh ancestry, from the Valleys, but not Welsh speakers that I ever knew of.) Of course for hillwalkers, a bonus of learning the proper names & their meanings is that they're often descriptive and it's like having helpful notes all over the map.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Late August in Snowdonia / Eryri NP, Wales: early morning at about 800m on Y Foel Goch west of Capel Curig. Tryfan and the Glyderau to the west, with Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon in the distance to the southwest. Later on, headed west to Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr, up the wide, easy ridge from the col.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Late August in Snowdonia / Eryri NP, Wales: evening at about 800m on Y Foel Goch west of Capel Curig. Looking west to Tryfan and the Glyderau, with Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon in the distance. The shallow col below is sometimes nicknamed 'the valley of kings' for the grandeur of the surrounding peaks.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The Full Moon after the New Moon of the 93% solar eclipse (as seen from Worcestershire) and we had a 93% eclipse of the Moon. Great views again until 04.52 BST, about 20 minutes before maximum, then the sinking Moon underwent a very rare triple eclipse of Earth's shadow + cloud + apple tree. 🙂
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
'The Summer of 26' in mid-Wales: Before and After. Images taken from Corn Du and Pen y Fan during two rounds of the wonderful Beacons Horseshoe in Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons NP, early July and mid August. (Same camera, JPEGs straight from the camera without extra processing.)
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Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
A 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
Some of the Small Copper nectaring on the flowers of the mint plant in my Weymouth allotment. Such beautiful, feisty butterflies (though all tranquil here).
Some showing the classic bright orange, others with a darker, sooty palate, and one with small pale dots on the hindwing. All fabulous. What a treat!
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Joanie McNaughton @joaniemcnaughton.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Last but def not least of Orkney botanising. Had seen Scottish Primrose, Primula scotica, on a visit in 1994, so was delighted to refind it same place, Yesnaby. Growing alongside was Grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris, also a delight to refind. @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Kevin Walker @bsbiscience.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A quick stop in Glencoe on our way back to England produced masses of Whorled Carraway Trocdaris verticillatum not far from the Scottish Mountaineering Club hut. Lovely plant in a stunning setting.
Whorled Caraway Trocdaris verticillatumWhorled Caraway by a stream in GlencoeGlencoe looking down towards the Whorled Caraway site
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Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
I 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
Sundew on the Purbeck Heaths, Dorset.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Late entry for both #Wildflowerhour and the summer flowering calendar, in full bloom despite the drought (much to the relief of hungry insects) were beautiful clouds of Wild Clematis, Clematis vitalba. With two quirky #CommonNames : Old Man's Beard and Traveller's Joy. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Late for #Wildflowerhour but it got me thinking: to modern ears which don't know their origins, what wildflowers *don't* have quirky #CommonNames?! 🙂 Still flowering locally were Cat's-ear (miaow), Lady's Bedstraw, Queen Anne's Lace, Lesser Spearwort... @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Spectacular sunbeams at and after maximum eclipse in Worcs. VERY lucky the clouds didn't cover the sun any earlier!, but they and the hazy atmosphere added to the unique spectacle. The reduced angular size of the eclipsed sun (here <10% of normal) casts sharper shadows, incl. those from the clouds.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I thought clouds in the west might spoil the eclipse from Worcestershire, but luckily I had excellent views until just after maximum. A far more dramatic event than I was expecting: 93% eclipsed was enough to darken the evening light and give a strange, bluish hue to the landscape. Wonderful!
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Now our mini-meadow is cut and most of the other garden wildflowers have also finished, the 'exotics' i.e. typical garden plants 🙂 are still there for the bees and butterflies. Very pleased that after 2022 I switched our container planting from traditional annuals to drought-tolerant perennials!
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Debbie Alston @debbie1alston.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Good numbers of Adonis Blue (second brood) seen east of Horseshoe Plantation today, plus Silver-spotted Skippers and lots of Clouded Yellows #EastbourneDownland
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Josh’s Wildlife @joshswildlife.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Amazing to see my first Brilliant Emeralds at a local loch today! Not a common dragonfly by any means. Easy to spot due to their (unsurprisingly) brilliant emerald sheen but very tricky to photograph as they were lively! #dragonfly #photography #insect
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
They'll stay in these pots until the end of next summer, with regular watering and twice-monthly weak feeds in the growing season. Thanks to the Hardy Orchid Society for seed, fungus and advice!
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Update on orchids from seed: two months on, about a 2/3 success rate with the potted-out protocorms (pic 3 & 4), which is fine! 6 pots of Southern Marsh orchids and 12 of Common Spotted. (Seeds sown on agar/oatmeal plates with symbiotic fungus last autumn.)
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Update on the orchids grown from seed: two months on, about a 2/3 success rate with the potted-out protocorms, which is fine! 6 pots of Southern Marsh orchids and 12 of Common Spotted. They'll stay in these pots until the end of next summer, regular watering and twice-monthly weak feeds in season.
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Steven Wright @stevenwright58.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Sourthern Hawker #dragonfly was curious about this watcher this afternoon. @warwickshirewt.bsky.social Bubbenhall Meadows.
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Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
This 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
A Marsh Gentian with three open flowers, plus one large bud. As the sun began to set, the flowers started to close until they were tightly wrapped up for the night.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
With our flowering lawn toasted around them, Cat's-Ear are still sending up flower stems and providing food for insects like this tiny (unidentified) bee. And naturalising Mexican Fleabane feels at home in the hot, dry weather. The #DaisyFamily are stars! #WildflowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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Steve Carter @shieldaig.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Torridon declared Scotland's newest national nature reserve. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Torridon declared Scotland's newest national nature reserve
It is the first since Glen Coe and Mar Lodge Estate were granted the status in 2017.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Linking with Beinn Eighe NNR next door. Surprising it wasn't already, a great place for Heath Spotted Orchids as one example.
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Dave @sylvatica2024.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Sea Daffodils in full flower at Par Sands beach today in Cornwall. Pancratium maritimum
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Our gone-to-seed mini-meadow still looks attractive but I'm going to do the annual 'hay cut' now while it's dry. Also, the Wild Carrot has done very well and I don't want too much of its seed spreading for next year. I'll trim round the best Agrimony plants (4th pic) so I can collect seed later.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Returning along the ridge of Bannau Sir Gaer in the Carmarthen Fans, in Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons NP, Wales. The highest point is Fan Brycheiniog at 802m, just a little less than the central Beacons, but a much wilder-feeling part of the National Park.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Sunrise last week at Llyn y Fan Fawr in Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons NP, Wales. A cool morning at only 3°C (at 600m) but the start of another fine day for hillwalking in this beautiful area.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Evening light and moonlight at Llyn y Fan Fawr in the Carmarthen Fans in the west of Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons NP, Wales. The 'double mountain' in the distance is two of the Central Beacons, Pen y Fan (the highest point in southern Britain) and Corn Du.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Another beautiful day hillwalking in Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons NP, Wales. A fresher afternoon with wonderful light and visibility on the walk in to Llyn y Fan Fawr, below the towering cliffs of Bannau Sir Gaer / the Carmarthen Fans.
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Water Crowfoot enjoying a shallow pool in the clear waters of Afon Sawdde, on Mynydd Du / the Black Mountain, Wales. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
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Craig Jones @craig63jones.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Sometimes the butterfly gods smile down on you... A bilateral gynandromorph Common Blue at Grafton Wood, Worcs 1/8/26. @westmbms-99.bsky.social @worcswt.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
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worcsorchids.bsky.social @worcsorchids.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Of course now I'm looking at all the images again and thinking 'I wonder if this one might possibly be...' 😃
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