A cracking start to the day with not one but two Grey Birch in 2 different traps in Crathie, a new species for VC92 (tho strangely absent until now) and one which has been expanding its range in Scotland. #TeamMoth

Calling all Moth-trappers... Does anyone know why & how geomagnetic storms impact moths?
Despite nightly catches of 150+ moths on the run up to Friday we had only 5 moths of 3 species in 4 traps under the #aurora in what were excellent conditions for the Cairngorms. #TeamMoth

An incredible weekend for our Spring Scottish moths workshop with success finding Kentish Glory & Netted Mountain Moth not to mention 50+ other species in the glorious #Cairngorms , profits to Butterfly Conservation 🦋 to help moths! Review here: wild-discovery.com/wild-diaries/s…

A great start to a fantastic day!

What a totally bonkers night. A magical light show enveloping the entire night sky over Crathie, #RoyalDeeside and a grand reopening for the new Balmoral suspension bridge, not to mention a crazy backdrop to our moth weekend! #Aurora #ShotOniPhone #iPhone #BeautifulABDN

This is looking immense! Get your camera's charged and head out to somewhere dark this evening

Just a reminder that the Braemar Nature Festival starts this evening and runs for 10 days so if you’re in the #Cairngorms then check out the programme below and hopefully see you at one or more of the events

May 1951 at the Devils Elbow just south of Glenshee Ski centre. Today the mercury is going to push 24oC locally and hardly any snow left on the peaks let alone at road level

Beast of the day on the first full day of our Cairngorms and Coast tour and great to have the sharp eyes and expertise of Calum with us.

The uphill march of Scotlands flora

This time next week we will have kicked off the inaugural Braemar Nature Festival and here's an updated programme including Pine Marten viewing at Glen Tanar and a talk from the River Dee Trust! Something for everyone we hope :)

A quieter night as temps dropped to 4oC but still 64 of 13 in the LepiLED & 85 of 12 MV. Scarce Prom the commonest moth with 33 in total. Pale Pinion still scarce up here and always good to see a Herald. #TeamMoth

175 moths of 21 species graced the MV & LepiLed last night in Crathie, Cairngorms inc 2 stunning male Kentish Glory as well as our first Yellow-barred Brindle, Streamer, Herald, Lead-coloured Drab etc. Quality and quantity! #TeamMoth #MothsMatter

New #nature festival starting soon in #Scotland :

Braemar Nature Festival - 10-19th May, 2024

Over nine days, it combines more than 20 exciting events that celebrate the area’s wildlife & community.

Programme of events: wild-discovery.com/wild-diaries/b…

#BraemarNatureFestival

A much chillier night than forecast with temps down to 1oC in Crathie, #Cairngorms but still 67 moths of 10 species this am inc 4 Lead-coloured Drab & 7 Scarce Proms. First Tree Pipit singing, Cuckoo last night but nothing to sugar & no #Nocmig #MothsMatter

This years Global Birdfair is looking even bigger and better than ever. Join me on the Friday in the Owl workshop for a session on ‘Top 5 tips for using camera traps’ & on Saturday for some Moth ogling!

Tongues of Fire blazing away today on the Junipers in Crathie Wood. Such a striking fungus and so ephemeral. #Mycology #Fungi

And so my mothing year begins! A bit late but a start nonetheless. 91 of 12 the scores this morning and hopefully this week looks set to be a reasonable one for trapping in the Cairngorms. Overnight min 6oC. Highlight Red Sword Grass & Pine Beauty #MothsMatter

Mooching around the crater rim of Cova on Santo Antao, Cabo Verde, produced a couple of species of #Hoverfly . The 1st seems to be Eristalis tenax (for which I can't find any records for CV) & the second looks something similar to a Pipizini but can't really get anywhere with it

After six months I've notched up an incredible 74 species of Procellariiformes around the south ocean & the Atlantic - the diversity is astonishing & taxonomy complex. The more islands we can revert to being predator free the better! #SuperSeabirdSunday #Seabirds #OM1