River Beauly Butterfly Walk - June 16th 2019

Much to our surprise we actually got a warm, sunny day for our Beauly River outing.

 

As we made our way to the pond over a grassy meadow, the first find was a dead Brown Long-eared Bat which was duly examined and photographed.

 

At the pond it was nice to see three species of Damselfly and several Four-spotted Chasers. Dragonflies, like everything else, have been scarce this season.

 

The recent incessant rain and low temperatures had obviously impacted on butterfly numbers, the two Small Tortoiseshells we saw looked very worn. However, the male Orange Tip still looked very smart as did most of the Green-veined Whites.

 

Moths likewise were hard to find, though grass moths were numerous enough. Chimney Sweepers made the day, we counted more than 20 in several locations.

 

Only three members did the walk with us, the better weather helping to make it an enjoyable outing.

Margaret Currie & Andy Scott