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…