David Parnaby

@parnaby.bsky.social

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Fair Isle. Birds, moths, beachcombing, wildlife. Some sheep. Big fan of good drying days.

Habitat shot of Trumpeter Finch dropping.
Shears, a regular 'early' moth in Fair Isle
Female Bluethroat on lichen and moss covered rock.
Graph showing individual records of North American passerines in Fair Isle per decade from the 1950s to present day (divided into spring and autumn records). Note that there are still four years left in the 2020s, which will show whether the apparent increase is continuing. If it does, it hopefully won't all be Buff-bellied Pipits!
Grey Seals, North Haven, Fair Isle. 22.11.2025. In Shetland, selkies can come ashore at night and remove their seal skins to reveal a human form underneath. You can control a selkie by stealing the skin, which prevents them from getting back in the water, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Convolvulus Hawk-moth
Female Large White butterfly
Pearly Underwing, netted at Hebe. Shirva, Fair Isle 24.06.2025. The second Fair Isle spring record (the other was earlier this year), only the fifth year in which the species has been recorded in the Isle.
Aethes cnicana. 3rd record for Fair Isle
Black-fronted Straw (Cochylichroa atricapitana). Shirva, Fair Isle. 12.05.2025. First record for Shetland.
Three 'Russian White-fronted Geese' (left hand birds) in flight with Greylags (and a sheep in the background) at the Meadow Burn, Fair Isle on 27th January 2025.