If you live in the region and are a member of Butterfly Conservation you automatically become a member of the Highland branch which covers Highland, Moray, the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland.

Our activities include recording butterflies and moths, organising events, field trips and work parties, and publishing annual newsletters, most of which can be downloaded from our Newsletters page.

Don't forget to tell us of any butterfly or moth sightings.

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You can find us on Facebook at Butterfly Conservation - Highland Branch

There is also a private Facebook group Highland Moths & Butterflies which enables people to share photos, ask each other for help with identification and generally chat about moths and butterflies.

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You can also find us on Bluesky at; BC Highland on Bluesky

********Transect walker required for RSPB Insh Marshes, Strathspey********

The Insh Marshes UKBMS transect was one of the first to be set up, in 1976. There is therefore a valuable long run of butterfly data for the site, indeed the transect will be 50 years old in 2025. The transect has been walked by one person for quite a few years but that person had to “retire” at the end of the 2024 season and so a new walker or walkers is needed.

Walking the transect once a week between April and August is quite a commitment for one person and so the plan is to get together a team of three or four walkers who can share the transect between them. Potential transect walkers will need to be ……. 

• Confident at butterfly identification.

• Reasonably fit because it takes up to one and a half hours to walk the transect and return to the start. Also, some of the route is over rough, boggy ground.

• Live relatively close to the site to take advantage of sunny periods of limited duration. The transect starts and ends in Insh village.

The transect route is varied, passing through the village of Insh, beautiful old birch woodland and across floodplain marshes to the River Spey. Training on transect methodology can be given.

General information about transects can be found on the UKBMS (UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme) website, https://ukbms.org/

For specific information about the Insh Marshes transect or to express interest in this vacancy, please contact Pete Moore [email protected] or phone 07590 589533.