In Orkney, we tend only to have about 10 species of breeding butterflies, and one of these, the Dark Green Fritillary, hasn't been seen for some years, likely due to loss of its preferred habitat. Orkney does, however, have lots of moths. The problem there is that I don't particularly like late nights or early mornings, so rarely see the flying adults unless they're a daytime species. All that said, the caterpillars of both butterflies and moths are frequently encountered whilst ambling about the footpaths of these isles, so it made sense to prioritise a caterpillar ID book rather than a butterfly/moth one, so I could at least know what would be flying around if I was awake. Well, it made sense in my head. The enthusiastic mothy folk in Orkney often post photographs on the local online insect group, including amazing images of some really spectacular hawk-moths. These are all large and distinctively marked or coloured, the sort of insect which could make your day! When loo
A weekend break across Scapa Flow on the islands of Hoy and South Walls had a very damp start, with a day of non-stop rain. It was needed, mind, to replenish reservoirs, ponds and the water table. However, it wasn't ideal circumstances for nature watching. The only bright side was that it was vertical weather rather then the more usual horizontal sort we're used to. The plan was to look for Harbour Porpoises in the stretch of sea between Flotta and Hoy, and although we did see some at a distance, the precipitation didn't help the cause. The Martello Tower at Crockness, with the one at Hackness visible to the left A Fox Moth caterpillar Drookit bumblebees sheltering on thistles Drookit humans sheltering in a car Despite the wet weather, and against all expectations, we encountered four species of raptor out hunting in the rain. I really didn't think they did this. Below is a photo of a Sparrowhawk, taken just after a failed attempt to catch a Meadow Pipit. In addition, w