Putting two and two together.

Last month, I drove all the way to Taynish National Nature Reserve on the west coast of Scotland to look for the marsh fritillary butterfly. I didn’t see one sadly, so about two weeks later, I returned with my mate Nick for another attempt. Staying overnight, the first day we wandered around the reservse for hours, but didn’t have any luck. After dinner and a pint or two in the Tayvallich Inn that evening, we did a spot of fishing around the village. As well as a few small corkwing wrasse, we caught a load of black goby. As it started to get dark, and the midgies began to appear, we were about to call it a night when I caught a solitary rock goby. Tired from a long day of driving, walking and fishing we headed back to the campsite to get some well earned sleep. 

My first black goby of 2026. One of many!

Also my first rock goby of the year. One of one!

Both up early in the morning, we turned our attention back to finding a marsh fritillary and formulated a plan. After heading to a couple of spots where they’ve been seen in the past,  that sadly didn’t produce one, our third spot looked much more promising. Walking along close to the rocky shoreline, the sun was out and there were a lot of different butterfly species around. After a while we decided to split up to cover more ground. Nick soon called me to say he had spotted our target species, and I quickly made my way over to where he was. Luckily the butterfly didn’t fly off and was very cooperative as we both took a few photos. 

My first ever marsh fritillary! A very pretty species indeed. Only found in Scotland in south Lochaber, Argyll and the Argyll Islands.

It was still fairly early in the day, so as we walked back to Nick’s van we discussed what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. Opting to head home via a stop to look for more butterflies near Oban, we got lucky when a single dark green fritillary flew by and landed in the dense hillside ferns. After chasing it around for a while, we both eventually got a few photos. 

My first dark green fritillary. Much more widespread than the marsh fritillary, it was still great to tick off yet another Scottish butterfly species. 

Before we left, I spotted a second marsh fritillary. I think the hills around Oban are perhaps the best place to see them. Taynish National Nature Reserve is a lovely spot, but it’s quite a walk from the car park down to the bog where they are usually seen. Anyway, it had been a successful trip. I’d added two new butterfly species and two goby species to my 2026 species counts. 

Tight lines, Scott.