Tailend Moss

It's amazing what you discover when you have your blip visor turned on (- with me it's usually things that were under my nose all along).

Tonight I was nearly home and I looked out my side window and saw some low lying fog. It struck me as odd as the day had really cleared up after a damp start. I doubled back and - to my surprise - found this widlife reserve hidden away in a hollow between the M8 and the A89.

From the Scottish Natural Heritage web site-

"Tailend Moss is a raised peat bog on low-lying ground and one of the few examples of this in the Lothians. Tailend Moss is important for its wildlife interest. There are three species of amphibian and seven species of dragonfly which have been recorded at the site, and it is also notable for its freshwater invertebrates. Over 100 species of birds have been recorded within the SWT reserve, with at least 31 species breeding on site. These include Meadow pipit, Skylark, Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Snipe, Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher and Lapwing. In winter, when South Pond floods, wildfowl roost here - including Whooper swans and Greylag geese."

This probably sounds like not much I know - but I pass this field almost every day- and it's great to find something like this in the middle of the semi-industrial, "surface of the moon"-type landscape sprawl that surrounds it...