SPY! - One of the joys of walking and exploring our beautiful countryside and landscapes is the huge variety of plants, flowers, trees and wildlife we can see. The yellow pansies of the Lomond Hills in spring, the stunning sea pinks at St Abbs, orchids, vibrant bluebell woods, the amazing heather hills in bloom, and colourful fungi bright in the dark woods are all there to be seen. But also, rarer and unusual plants are there to be found if we want to look. Rare orchids, a giant puffball fungus the size of a small sheep, seen near Blairgowrie and bright pimpernels!
Coasts have sea kale, sea holly, sea rocket & marsh mallow & the rare samphire. Dwarf trees, shrubs and plants cling onto wind and sea swept coasts and islands, some even grow flat to the ground such as the wild roses in Islay. Mountains have rare alpine, arctic or dwarf plants & varieties. E.g. amazing cloudberries, which are ripe when very pale, blaeberries & crowberries, and mountain avens, all waiting to be found in this montane ecosystem. On the moorland, there are mosses and a tiny colourful world of plants to be found & appreciated despite this harsh environment. So stop, and look around, look down and really get to know your countryside.
Scotland’s rainforest, also known as Atlantic woodland and Celtic rainforest, is made up of the native woodlands found on our west coast in Argyl & West Highlands. Here the climate is wettest. The humidity, along with the high rainfall and variety of soils, creates perfect conditions for more than 500 species of mosses, ferns, lichens and liverworts.
Woods and forests are very varied but even here are snowdrops, orchids, wild berries, colourful flowers and plants, wild garlic and leek, and many varieties of fascinating fungi such as the Chicken of the Woods seen on our recent Roslin walk. If you find something you do not recognise Google Search is your best pal!
Wildlife is all around us, hares, deer, rabbits, stoats, weasels, foxes, badgers, red squirrels and so many birds of all kinds from osprey, sea eagles, cuckoos, swallows or snow buntings as well as the amazing seabirds.
If you do want to catch sight of animals & birds, then slow down & stop when you approach an area. Keep quiet just look over the whole landscape and sky. That is when you spot the unusual and elusive creatures that scatter or hide quickly. You will soon get your eye in and learn what to look for and where.