Wildlife

  • photograph of a blue and black striped dragonfly in flight.
    Common Hawker dragonfly at Glen Moss (photographer T Norman Tait)
  • Dragonfly sunning on a reed with wings outstretched showing the 4 dark spots on the edges of the wings.
    Four-Spotted Chaser dragonfly at Glen Moss (photographer T Norman Tait)
  • Heron standing on the bank of the burn.
    Heron at the Espedair Burn, Paisley (photographer Peter Crawford)
  • Otter at the edge of the bank with a trout in its mouth.
    Otter at Abbey Bridge, Paisley, May 2015 (Photographer T Norman Tait)
  • Photograph of an orange and brown mottled butterfly with a black and red moth underneath its wing. Both are feeding on a purple flower with grass in background.
    Dark Green Fritillary and Six-spot Burnet Moth on Knapweed at Ardeer Dunes, 2016
  • Orange and speckled butterfly on yellow flower
    Comma butterfly at Baron’s Haugh, August 2017
  • Small lizard sunning on roofing felt
    Common Lizard at Greenock Cut, August 2018
  • Photograph of white bird with dark green head and red beak sitting on water.
    Goosander (photographer – Paul Tatner)
  • Red-capped toadstools with white speckles and stems
    Fly Agarics
  • Pale coloured toadstools, a mature one with flat cap and gills and young one with domed cap
    The Blusher
  • Pale blue butterfly with wings outstretched above grass.
    Male Common Blue butterfly, Ardeer
  • Plant with green heart-shaped leaves and purple flowers each with 5 petals
    Common Dog Violet
  • Moth with large eyes on wings, and large fringed antennae, looking like a cat's face upside down
    Male Emperor moth, Moss Mulloch, May 2018
  • Plant with green leaves and pale yellow flowers with dark yellow splodge and dark lines on centre lobe.
    Field pansies
  • Grey and yellow bird with black and white head feeding younger bird of same colour while both perched on jaggy plant stem.
    Great Tit feeding a fledgling (photographer – Norman Tait)
  • Green coloured butterfly with wings closed sitting camouflaged against plants on the ground.
    Green Hairstreak butterfly, Moss Mulloch, May 2018
  • Flying insect standing on yellow centre of flower with pink petals
    Hoverfly Eristalis Pertinax on Cosmos flower
  • Flying insect with white stripes on black body standing on tiny white flowers.
    Hoverfly Leucozona glaucia (photographer – John Maclean)
  • Brown and cream coloured bird standing on muddy ground at water's edge.
    Jack Snipe (photographer – Ewan Douglas)
  • Snake curled up amoungst dried rust-coloured Bracken stems.
    Male Adder (photographer – Tom Byars)
  • Brown bird with pale spotted breast sitting in frosted branches of tree with red berries.
    Mistle Thrush (photographer – Ewan Douglas)
  • Orange, brown and white marbled butterfly perched on purple Knapweed flower.
    Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary butterfly (photographer – Claire Paterson)
  • Photograph of large bee with white tail and large pollen sack on leg, flying towards pink and white trumpet-shaped flowers with protruding yellow stamens
    White-Tailed Bumblebee approaching Honeysuckle

Look at our Wildlife sites page to discover some of the places in Renfrewshire where you can observe wildlife and our Outing reports for places a bit further afield.

Check out the PNHS Facebook page for posts on recent sightings and photographs and if you’ve seen something interesting please share it with us.

Read our Lesser Whitethroat page to find out more about this locally scarce bird, including research by PHNS member, Tom Byars, and the scrub enhancement project being carried out by PNHS in association with Gleniffer Country Park Countryside Rangers.

Learn more about particular species from our Wildlife information sheets and Papers/publications.

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