Читать книгу Walking in the Pentland Hills. 30 walks in Edinburgh's local hills онлайн

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The many reservoirs in the Pentlands are especially good for wildfowl. Westwater (Walk 14) is a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance), especially significant for thousands of pink-footed geese in the winter. Threipmuir (Walk 7) has mallard, teal, whooper swan and great crested grebe, and North Esk has a noisy colony of black-headed gulls. Smaller ponds support colourful insects such as the large red damselfly and common hawker dragonfly, as well as common frogs and palmate and smooth newts.

Looking over Loganlea Reservoir to Carnethy Hill and Turnhouse Hill (Walk 29)

Grasslands are home to brown hares, short-eared owls, the common shrew and meadow brown butterfly.

The Pentlands are not heavily wooded – there are a few conifer plantations, and the 19th-century shelter belts and woodlands surrounding reservoirs support birds such as the willow warbler, crossbill, goldcrest and sparrowhawk.

Fungi are often overlooked, or in some cases destroyed by people, but they play a vital role in recycling nutrients in a woodland or grassland. They are a fascinating group of organisms in their own right, and to discover more about them, visit www.britmycolsoc.org.uk.