Butterfly Conservation (@savebutterflies) — Bluesky Profile

2 days ago

Minister for Public Finance
cc. Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy

10 March 2026

Save Coul Links – Six months since Reporters’ Recommendations sent to Scottish Government

The Conservation Coalition, made up of Buglife Scotland, Butterfly Conservation, Marine Conservation Society, National Trust for Scotland, Plantlife Scotland, RSPB Scotland and Scottish Wildlife Trust, is again writing to you in your role as minister with responsibility for planning. We appreciate your response to our last letter in November 2025 in relation to the proposed golf course at Coul Links.

It is now over six months since the Reporters’ recommendations on Coul Links was passed to Ministers to decide the outcome. Tens of thousands of people have voiced their concerns about this development which would cause unacceptable harm to a unique and beautiful place for nature. The proposed development would do irreparable damage to the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet Ramsar site, a rare coastal sand dune habitat of international importance, as well as to a Special Protection Area (SPA) and the Loch Fleet Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). NatureScot has also objected due to the predicted damage to the protected habitats found at Coul Links. All developments should be well-sited and designed to avoid the most sensitive places for wildlife and ensure that they leave nature in a better state than before, in line with the ambition and policies of the National Planning Framework and to contribute to Scotland’s nature recovery.

We were delighted that the Scottish Parliament recently decided to agree to give enhanced protection to Ramsar sites in the Natural Environment Bill. While this additional legal protection will not come into force immediately, we hope that the Scottish Government will show that they are consistent in working towards the protection and restoration of nature in Scotland and refuse this harmful application.

Yours Sincerely,
The Conservation Coalition

It’s been 6 months since the report on Coul Links went to ministers for them to decide its fate.

Many thousands of people have spoken out to protect this unique and beautiful place from the irreparable damage the proposed golf development would do. 🦆🪰 🦋

Today we sent a letter to ministers 👇

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19 hours ago

Spring is coming and soon there will be orange tips! From my book Butterfly Safari “Incredible photos, a beautiful book” The Guardian @omsystem.bsky.social @royalent.bsky.social @graffegbooks.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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5 days ago

A female Small Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas) egg-laying on Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Two eggs of the Small Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas) on Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Excited to see one of my PhD chapters now published! We found a trade-off between the quality of host plants and how warm they were for a declining grassland butterfly (Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas) and looked at how this shaped their egg-laying choices: doi.org/10.1111/een....

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4 days ago

The last winter work party of 2025/6 at Rowland Wood with @savebutterflies.bsky.social reserve volunteers - Planting violet plug plants to help the Fritillary butterflies

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3 days ago

It's official: #moths deserve just as much attention as #butterflies! 🦋We chat to Dr Richard Fox, head of science @savebutterflies.bsky.social about #moths, the 2025 #BigButterflyCount & how #gardeners can better support them 👉https://tinyurl.com/Organic-Gardening-Podcast #OrganicGardeningPodcast

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3 days ago

Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK Early spring sightings show colourful insect is a resident species for first time in decades, says conservation charity The large tortoiseshell – an elusive and enigmatic butterfly that became extinct in Britain in the last century – is a UK resident species once again, with a flurry of early spring sightings. Britain’s list of native butterflies has increased to 60 with the return of the insect after individuals emerged from hibernation in woodlands in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. Continue reading...

Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK

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3 days ago

An Early Thorn moth resting, with wings held back like a butterfly, on a lichen covered branch

An Early Thorn moth resting on a lichen covered branch at night

Early Thorn moth caterpillar blending in with a plant stem

Happy #MothMonday! Looking like a butterfly at rest, the Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria) flies after dusk and is common and well distributed throughout the British Isles. 🦋

Look out for it this month!

📷: Bob Eade, Les Evans-Hill, Patrick Clement

#MothsMatter #TeamMoth

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6 days ago

#DERBYSHIRE My best night of the year so far 8/5 with 3 NFG, 1 Brindled Beauty, 1 Small Quaker, 1 Chestnut. Clear at first, cloudy by morning.

Also present 3 Common Quaker, 2 Hebrew Character. #TeamMoth #MothsMatter @savebutterflies.bsky.social #Moths @derbyswildlife.bsky.social

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6 days ago

First butterfly sightings 2026 Here are 2026's earliest sightings of resident and common migrant butterflies, as reported to Butterfly Conservation.To count as first sighting, butterflies must be seen outside and be active (i.e. no...

Keep up with the first butterfly sightings as they happen 👉 butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/...

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6 days ago

Holly Blue butterfly feeding on forget-me-nots

Speckled Wood butterfly on forget-me-nots

Spring is springing! 🙌

More butterflies are beginning to make an appearance, with the first Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) of 2026 spotted on 25 February.

📷 Photos from archive: Nigel Ball, Anna Wheeler

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6 days ago

📣 New paper 🎉 Proud to have helped with this nice study by @wlangdon12.bsky.social showing a trade-off between nutritional quality & microclimate of host plants for Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). Here in England, they choose warmth over nutrition resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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1 week ago

Glasgow Wild Spaces - Wild Spaces

Live in Glasgow and interested in getting involved? Find out more 👉 wild-spaces.co.uk/project/glas...

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1 week ago

Glasgow’s network of green spaces make up over a fifth of the city’s total area. By improving this network and creating Wild Spaces to support butterflies and moths, we can have an incredible impact for nature and for communities across Glasgow."

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1 week ago

Butterfly Conservation project officer Claire Martin said: "Parks and green spaces are incredibly important for local communities, providing opportunities to enjoy time outdoors and discover wildlife. They are integral to our wellbeing and enrich our local environments in so many ways.

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1 week ago

Three school children grinning at the camera with their hands on a freshly planted heather in a repurposed tyre.

Over the next two years, together with @glasgowcitycouncil.bsky.social and residents, we aim to:

🦋 Create 15 Wild Spaces in parks and green spaces
🦋 Create 13 more Wild Spaces for schools with the help of pupils and staff
🦋 Help 20 community hubs to create their own Wild Spaces

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1 week ago

A group of school children in uniform, holding plants and gardening tools, standing in front of a brick raised flower bed. Behind them, a group of adults are smiling, also holding plants and paper butterflies.

Good news for Glasgow! More than 40 new Wild Spaces are to be created across the city for butterflies, moths, and people 🌿

📷: @juliebeephoto.bsky.social

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1 week ago

Two comma butterflies seen yesterday in the sunshine such a delight to watch these beautiful gentle creatures.

#InsectThursday Did I mention I saw my first #butterflies of 2026 yesterday? 😍🎉🦋 Absolutely thrilled to see two #commas sunbathing and feeding on mahonia. Such a delight to see, hopefully the first of many for me. #Lancashire @savebutterflies.bsky.social #vitaminN

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1 week ago

Brimstone. Grafton Wood, Worcs 4/3/26.
@westmbms-99.bsky.social @worcswt.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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1 week ago

A warm, sunny day at the Dorset patch brought out plenty of insects: 2 Comma, 3 Peacock, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Brimstone, Gorse Shieldbug & Seven-spot Ladybird. #inverts @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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1 week ago

Ydych chi'n byw yng Ngogledd Cymru ac eisiau gwneud gwahaniaeth i glöyn byw prin? 🦋

Rydyn ni’n chwilio am wirfoddolwyr i helpu ni ddysgu mwy am y Gweirlöyn Mawr y Waun dan fygythiad drwy gynnal arolygon ar draws cynefinoedd mawndir yr haf hwn.

Ymunwch â ni 👉 buff.ly/TKbCq3O

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1 week ago

Large Heath butterfly perched on an unfurling bracken frond

Live in North Wales and want to make a difference for rare butterflies? 🦋

We're looking for volunteers to help us learn more about the threatened Large Heath by carrying out surveys across peatland habitats this summer.

Get involved 👉 buff.ly/TKbCq3O

📷️: Iain Leach

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1 week ago

Marsh fritillary larvae out and busy in the morning sun. North Dorset. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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1 week ago

Oak Beauty moth resting on a lichen-covered branch

The Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) certainly lives up to its name 😍

An unmistakable moth of early spring, they can be found in mature oak woodland and even gardens where broadleaved trees such as oak, hazel and elm grow.

📷: Iain Leach
#MothMonday #MothsMatter #TeamMoth

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1 week ago

Butterfly Conservation's butterflies and moths to see in March: Red Admiral, Orange Underwing, Peacock, Oak Beauty, Brimstone, Dotted Border, Comma, Early Thorn, Small Tortoiseshell

Spring is on its way! Look out for these butterflies and moths in your gardens and local green spaces 🦋🌷

What have you seen recently?

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2 weeks ago

Woo hoo! My 1st butterfly of the year spotted today! 🥳 A lovely Peacock 🦋 Too quick for a photo so here’s one from last year. #butterflies @bcwarwickshire.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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2 weeks ago

#TeamMoth A first 2026 mind boggler for the apprentice 🙋‍♂️ with this very dark fluttering garden visitor. Not sure if I have a Clouded Drab (more likely) or Lead-coloured Drab here 🤔 #DERBYSHIRE #MothsMatter @savebutterflies.bsky.social NFG either way but help needed please fellow moth-ers.

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1 week ago

Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria North Antrim Feb2026. I don't often see the dark form (f. monacharia) of this species up here, so 2 earlier this week was a pleasant surprise. #moths #mothsmatter #teammoth @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social

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1 week ago

Clean Water Now - tell your MP to take action Take action A new water law is coming. Soon, MPs will decide whether to finally clean up our rivers, lakes and seas − or let toxic pollution continue unchecked. Right now, sewage, farming pollution an...

We've joined forces with experts from across the country to call for #CleanWaterNow.

Politicians have been promising to fix the system for too long. Write to your MP to demand that water companies clean up their act and prioritise nature restoration 👉 action.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/clean...

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1 week ago

An Orange-tip butterfly perched on a cuckooflower with sunlit water behind. Text overlay reads: "Email your MP to demand clean water now."

We are in an environmental crisis. Without clean freshwater habitats, the ecosystems our butterflies and moths depend on will never truly be fully protected from the threat of pollution.

But right now, just 14% of English rivers are in Good Ecological Condition. 🧪

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2 weeks ago

Volunteers working amongst colourful flowers in a city park with autumnal-looking trees in the background

Join us in creating beautiful #WildSpaces in Leeds! 🌼🦋

We're looking for volunteers to help us transform spaces across the city into havens for butterflies, moths and people.

No experience needed, just enthusiasm to get stuck in and learn! Find out more 👉 buff.ly/wkxRb0U
@bcyorkshire.bsky.social

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