See Come Forth for Wildlife’s Mapestry panel for this month without having to leave your home! Each month a different panel will be on full display – so come back here to see more of this fantastic community-driven art creation!
Click on different aspects of the Mapestry below to find out more about them!
The Kelpies
The Kelpies are the largest equine sculpture in the world. They were created as a space where communities could come together. The Kelpies name reflects the mythological beasts the possess the strength and endurance of 100 horses, a quality relating to the area's landscape, the endurance of its inland waterways and strength of its local communities.
Common Toad
The common toad is one of the UK’s most charismatic animals and for many of us it is one of our earliest wildlife memories.
It is a widespread amphibian found throughout Britain though is absent from Ireland. Common Toads prefer deeper water bodies in which to breed, including fish ponds, farm ponds, reservoirs or village ponds. They have rough, ‘warty’ skin and tend to crawl rather than hop. Common Toads produce a toxin from a pair of glands on their back which makes them distasteful to would-be predators.
Land Snail
Land Snail's are one of the many species of snail that live on land. The Land Snail is one of the terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells. Slugs are terrestrial gastropod mollusks without shells. This fascinating species has a strong muscular foot and they use mucus to move over different surfaces and to stop their bodies from drying out. They also have either one or two pairs of tentacles on their head. Land snails are a tasty treat for our amphibians!
Falkirk Steeple
The Falkirk Steeple is situated in the centre of Falkirk on the High Street. The town of Falkirk has had a Steeple in its skyline for over 300 years. The current steeple is the third Steeple Falkirk has had, with the previous two being demolished in 1697 and 1803.
In 1813 building work began on the third and current Steeple by Glasgow's famous architect, David Hamilton. The building work was complete by June 1814 and in terms of what the Steeple was used for, it had a shop, two prison cells, a small room used by the shop keeper or jailor and a meeting room with views of the High Street. Although the building work had been completed in 1814, the Steeple did not have a bell. John Russell, who was later clockmaker to HRH the Prince Regent, later King George IV, created a new clock for the Steeple which was installed in 1815. The bell was installed in 1816 with the inscription 'May Falkirk Flourish'.
Heron
Heron's are very easy to recognise with them being quite tall (up to 98cm) and their long legs, beaks and grey, white and black feathers make them obvious to the human eye. The Heron's wingspan is also long, up to 195cm. Heron's are usually seen either standing tall with their neck stretched out on the look out for their next tasty meal, or more hunched with their neck bent towards the chest.
In terms of their natural habitats, they like woodlands, farmland, grassland, marine and intertidal areas, wetlands and urban and suburban spots. They eat a variety of fish, small mammals such as voles, small birds like ducklings and even some of our amphibians!
If you want to spot a heron they can be seen all year round and are usually spotted near any kind of water such as lakes, rivers, canals, garden ponds or even estuaries.
Great Crested Newt
Great Crested Newts are the biggest newt species in the UK and have been around for approximately 40 million years.
They are widely distributed throughout Britain but this distribution is extremely patchy; they’re absent from Ireland and have disappeared from many sites across Europe. They are the largest of our native newt species. During the breeding season males develop a jagged crest which has a break at the base of the tail and females take on a ‘bulky’ appearance.
The Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills are one of main attractions of the wee county of Clackmannanshire. The steep sides and rounded tops run from Stirling to the Firth of Tay, roughly 25miles. The Ochils consist of many hills, with several over 2,000ft and the highest being Ben Cleuch at 721m.
On a good day, the hills offer fantastic views of the Wallace monument to the east, the Forth Road Bridges to the west, the meandering River Forth, the Pentlands in the distance, the Trossachs and even further a field, across the central belt and to the north. They also offer a splendid backdrop to villages and towns both to the north and south of the hill range and are a great place to explore and to immerse yourself in nature.
