With just three butterflies to see in Great Britain it was time to bite the bullet and head north to Scotland to see the Chequered Skipper. The species are a Scottish speciality located between Oban & Fort William. I had waited for a good forecast before booking some overnight accomodation which would give me two chances if needed.
Before heading into the highland I stopped at the iconic Kelpies which I've always wanted to visit, well worth a walk if you are ever passing.
On arrival at Glasdrum I was greeted with heavy cloud which developed into drizzle most certainly not what was forecast. 2 1/2 hours of searching and not a single bit of hope, it was just not warm enough and sun was very much needed. Just below the reserve I watched two otters catching fish while a Whimbrel kept calling clearly not happy the otters were about.
I'd seen a nice cafe about 10 minutes north so I headed there for some lunch and a battery recharge. During my lunch there was a terrencial downpour, this did not look good. Then out of nowhere a small peak of sunshine emerged and I was off back down to reserve.
There were now three other people looking who had seen one in flight, I was starting to get hopeful. I'm not sure how many bluebells I'd checked but I was very grateful when finally I picked one up in flight and there was no way I was going to lose it. Thankfully it sat up beautifully on a bluebell enabling me to get the optics on it and some photos. What a stunning butterfly! Its hard to estimate how many Skippers I saw however 4-6 would be my best guess with at least three around the burn. Sightings from previous weekend were much more plentiful but the weather then was much kinder. The mixed weather probably assisted me in getting a nice selection of photos of the species showing underwing & with wings open. I was very happy with the ones I had seen which was my 57th butterfly.
To visit Glasdrum you need to head north out of Oban then take a small road to Inver after turning east off the A828 roundabout just after the Loch Creran Bridge. The post code to the car park is PA38 4BQ, and there is space for around a dozen cars. To find out more about the reserve just click here.
To celebrate I had a fantastic fresh fish & chip evening meal & a large glass of white.
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