Nature Friday from the Birthday Boy

Er yes, since you ask, it is in fact my twelfth birthday today. Gail seems even more thrilled about this than I am, and rest assured, we'll be telling you all about my birthday celebrations in my next post.

Meanwhile, I have some Nature Friday pictures to show you from last week's trip to Forvie Nature reserve.

I expect you are wondering what the fluffy off-white stuff is between the clumps of heather in the picture above?

Let's have a closer look.

And even closer.

Cool, huh? 

A google search suggested that this bleached green springy moss-like growth is in fact a lichen of the genus Cladonia. Further consultation with Gail's friend Carol confirmed this diagnosis and narrowed it down to the species Cladonia portentosa, common name reindeer lichen.

There are no reindeer to chomp away at the lichen in Forvie, but on the wildlife front I can offer you swans in the Sand Loch, noisily cackling geese overhead, wigeon on nearby tidal mudflats and evidence of an active mole population in a field just outside of the nature reserve boundary.

And finally, just in case you ever doubted the fact that Scotland's coastal areas can be a tad breezy...

Happy Nature Friday friends! Now I'm off to look for my birthday treats...