Tailend Moss is a lowland raised bog situated between Bathgate and Livingston. Every so often I feel I should have a year long project – most of which don’t get past day one.
I have been visiting Tailend Moss now for many decades so I feel that I would like to record its development over the course of a year.
I visited it on a beautiful sunny day this year (2024) in January. It was extremely quiet with very little signs of life – even the birds were absent. It usually is good for spotting everything from Tits to Waxwings, Herons to Buzzards as well as two or three small families of roe deer. The grasses and heathers as expected were very yellow – not yet in growth and the trees pretty much leafless. However winter can bring its own benefits. It is easy for example to spot a few Hazel trees on the outskirts of the moss. Hazel’s are characterised at this time of year by their prominent display of catkins.
There are numerous ponds at Tailend which are all overflowing due to the amount of rain we have had in recent months and there are many signs of the January storms in the large and small broken branches that litter the paths. The ponds will come alive in the coming months as the frogs, toads and newts spring into the breeding season. I hope I can time it right to photograph the activity.
Various birds use the moss as their breeding grounds and I hope to highlight this in the coming months. I am already looking forward to my visit in February.



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