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Common Heather - Torga (Calluna vulgaris)

Sintra/Portugal (11/11/2025)

[Nikon D7100; AF 105mm Micro-Nikkor F2,8]

#plants #plant photography #flowers #shrubs #heathers #common heather

Eight of my favourite photos I took in August 2025 and month summary

Looking back as the month concludes this weekend yellow was the colour of another amazing month of wildlife for me with Clouded Yellow butterflies and Yellow Wagtails two exquisite species seen. The latter alongside Whinchat being my first of the year on a trip to Hook-with-Warsash to make my bird year list my highest ever which I’m thrilled to have reached. Wasp spider, sunflowers and seas of fleabane and ragwort added further yellow gloss to this summer month. The Yellow Wagtail at Workman's Lane, Hook-with-Warsash, first Clouded Yellow I saw this month at St Catherine's Hill and wasp spider at Stockbridge Down are shown in the first, third and fifth pictures in this photoset respectively.

Another notable bird to see and photograph was Wheatear at Milford on Sea to mean I’ve seen and photographed them in England, Scotland and Wales this year now. Multiple migratory Spotted Flycatcher sightings, Pied Flycatcher, Treecreeper, Grey Wagtails, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon in Winchester, epic Kingfisher views at Lakeside, Cormorants, Great White Egret, Black-necked Grebe, Red-crested Pochard, Black Tern, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Knots (one shown at Lymington in the second picture in this photoset), Little Stint, Sanderling, Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and precious views of Swallow, Sand Martin, House Martins including in numbers at Lakeside and last Swift glimpses of my year were other bird highlights this month. I got exciting glimpses of a gorgeous Fox, Rabbit and Fallow and Roe Deer this month.

Other butterflies I savoured views of in August included Wall Brown, Silver-spotted Skipper, Chalkhill Blues, Adonis Blue, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Green-veined White, Large White, Small White, Small Copper, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood. I saw some eye-catching moths this month including Rosy Footman, Orange Swift and Common Crimson-and-gold moth. Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Double-striped Pug, Rush Veneer, Vine’s Rustic, Small Blood-vein, Straw-barred Pearl and Barred Marble were other species seen in a busy moth month.

Delightful dragonflies and damselflies continued to grip my summer with mesmerising views of Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker (including the blue form one at Lakeside Country Park in the fourth picture in this photoset), Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter, Beautiful Demoiselle and Blue-tailed Damselfly. Common Red Soldier beetle, multiple Seven-spotted Ladybirds in a good year for them, Hornets, Ruby-tailed Wasp, bees, hoverflies including Yellow-haired Sun Fly, Dark Bush Cricket and lots of Long-bodied Cellar spiders and other spiders at home were other key fauna sightings in August. In terms of flora a raft of fruits brought more colour to the landscape this month including climbing nightshade, many blackberries and hawthorn berries, blackthorn sloes, guelder rose berries, rowan berries, elderberries, dogwood berries, cuckoo-pint berries and acorns. There were still some special summer blooms around including water mint, purple loosestrife, gypsywort, bindweed, knapweed, broomrape, wild carrot, harebells, squinancywort, viper’s-bugloss, eyebright, common toadflax, centaury, red bartsia, hedge-nettle, bird’s-foot trefoil, wild basil, marjoram, cornflower, burdock, mugwort, foxgloves, tufted vetch, marsh ragwort, marsh St. John’s-wort, lesser spearwort, bell and common heather (shown in the sixth picture in this photoset at Whitefield Moor in the New Forest) and cross-leaved heath and golden samphire.

There were mushrooms starting to appear this month including poplar fieldcap and artist’s bracket. I was pleased to take in some wonderful views including of coast, downland, paddock areas, woodland, purple heathland, wetland, rivers/streams and lakes. I took the seventh picture in this photoset of a beautiful cliff scene at Milford on Sea on a sunny day and eighth and final photo in this set of one of a few beautiful sky scenes seen at home from my bedroom in August. The “false autumn” brought on by the dry and hot weather leading to trees going into stress bringing early colour to the landscape was intriguing. Have a good September when we get there all.