June on the Isle of Skye

3 June 2014 . . . . Great excitement when I went out to examine the moth trap this morning - my first hawkmoth!
Poplar Hawkmoth
There were actually two of them - male and female. Had five other new species as well: Small Angle Shades, Lunar Thorn, Fox Moth, Buff-tip, Broom Moth. Later I went out to check on our best local site for Northern Marsh Orchid, and found some quite well advanced.
Dactylorhiza purpurella	Dactylorhiza purpurella

4 June 2014 . . . . Suardal Went in search of Frog Orchids and Red-throated Divers today. Found neither, but did find my first Small White Orchid and a few other things as well.
Argent & Sable	Northern Eggar
Neottia ovata (Common Twayblade)	Epipactis atrorubens (Dark Red Helleborine)

7 June 2014 . . . . One new moth this morning.and later saw my first Golden-ringed Dragonflies of the year.
Shears	Golden-ringed Dragonfly

8 June 2014 . . . . No Frog Orchids yet, but here's the next best thing:

Common Frog

10 June 2014 . . . . Walked the Moll road today and found five species of orchid in flower.

11 June 2014 . . . . On the Kylerhea road My first Moonwort, plus two orchid shots from yesterday. These are both subspecies pulchella, which has a pink form (more common on Skye) and a purple form.
Botrychium lunaria (Moonwort)	Dactylorhiza incarnata (Early Marsh Orchid)	Dactylorhiza incarnata (Early Marsh Orchid)

13 June 2014 . . . . I recently spend some time visiting three local populations of what used to be known as Dactylorhiza lapponica, but has now been renamed D. traunsteinerioides subspecies francis-drucei (Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid). The variation I found within and between the three colonies was considerable:

17 June 2014 . . . . Weather continues warm, dry and sunny and the first Common Blues have appeared. Didn't manage any photos so these are two old ones.
Common Blue (female)	Common Blue (male)

20 June 2014 . . . . Went to visit the loch where I photographed a Red-throated Diver last year and my luck was in. It's also a good spot for damselflies.
Red-throated Diver	Common Blue damselfly

22 June 2014 . . . . These are both very common, but still worth photographing.
Epilobium montanum (Broad-leaved Willowherb)	Myosotis secunda (Creeping Forget-me-not)

24 June 2014 . . . . Luib to Torrin to Strollamus to Ard Dorch The annual explosion of Magpie moths has occurred in the last couple of days. There were hundreds of them as I walked through Strath Mor and almost as many in Strath Beag. As I walked home from Strollamus I was delighted to see a Red Admiral - a rare sight these days.

Magpie moth

26 June 2014 . . . . Two new moths in the trap this morning:
Middle-barred Minor	Map-winged Swift