Farlary Wildlife

As we arrived at Farlary croft for our walk yesterday we stopped the car to watch a red kite wend its way between the turning blades of the thicket of wind turbines. We have yet to find a dead bird under a turbine so I like to think that the concerns about bird safety are unfounded.

Because we took a route through the croft lands which we hadn't followed before, we discovered a second lochan, like the first artificial but cleverly sculpted with a small island in the middle with....

....an unusual pine tree on it whose cones protruded upwards, some of which rather resembled the cap and stalk of a fungus.

The only damselflies visible around the water were emeralds - this is a male - but at least they were out in some numbers, and it was good to see some flying in tandem.

Along the paths, basking in such sunshine as we had, we spotted two black darters, both immature males.

It is early days for the fungi which we know are so prolific at Farlary but we still saw at least four different species, including fly agaric and this one, sitting on the cut grass just at the entrance to the car park as if there to greet us; I think it's a birch bolete.

The varied habitats around the croft lands are wonderful for the wildlife, including the birds. This one was on the more open land. I think it may be a young stonechat but, as with all my identifications, would be happy be corrected.