Boatbirder.com: BUTTERFLIES 🦋👁‍🗨UPDATED 2026

Beyond the Feathers: A 10-Year Retrospective and the New Butterfly Database Date: June 2026

When this corner of the internet marked its 10-year milestone back in 2019, it felt like the perfect moment to pause, look back, and completely review my many travels across Europe and North America. Digging into the archives means spending hours looking over numerous unpublished images—and while doing so, I realised that one area, in particular, required a much closer inspection.

While my travels to different parts of the world—including the US, Canada, and various European destinations—have mainly focused on birdwatching, I have also been fortunate enough to observe and photograph various species of butterflies and Odonata along the way.

Sifting Through the Archives

Admittedly, while the birds always got top billing, I’ve found it quite challenging over the years to keep track of these fascinating insects. They are fast, seasonal, and often require a completely different eye to identify. But looking back at the files, the sheer variety of winged wonders I’ve managed to capture on camera—frequently while waiting for a rare wader to move or a songbird to emerge from dense cover—was too good to leave sitting on a hard drive.

Following a thorough review of those thousands of archived photos, I have finally sat down and created a comprehensive personal database of my butterfly listings.

Alongside the new database, I'll be sharing some of these hidden gems—images that never made it into the original, bird-centric blog posts at the time.

Database Status: LAST UPDATED: May 2026 ~ Spain visits!

A Growing Life List

This project isn't just about looking backward, either. Naturally, if I'm lucky enough to identify new species already hiding in my older files, or if I find brand-new additions to my life list on current travels, these will be updated directly into the database.

The recent spring trips to Spain have already yielded some fantastic new data and fresh images, which have been fully integrated into the records.

If you have a passion for Lepidoptera alongside your birding, I hope you enjoy this new chapter of the journey!

TWO NEW ADDITIONS FOR 2026: Blue Spot Hairstreak & Light Pygmy Skipper.