Another new orchid year, but while Covid 19 is no longer headline news any more, an early trip to the Mediterranean is off for me. Mask restrictions are still in place in many situations, and it seems that with international air travel about to take off again, Manchester  Airport managed to forget to recruit and train security staff leaving passengers queuing for hours and hours. On the bright side it means a much delayed trip to The Burren was a cert, and perhaps another  highlight later in the summer.

Hopefully I will be bringing you more new places to see orchids this year, and not bore you with too much more of the same. So far this I have been to  15 new orchid sites, over half during a trip to Ireland, though a couple are a bit of a fudge as you will see if you read. The trips have  yielded two species new to me and a few more varieties.

Meanwhile, Orchid theft, is the hot topic in May this year, with that of the Early Spider Orchids near Folkestone making the national press. I include location  data on many of the entries here, but withhold that for more sensitive sites and those where I have been given information in confidence. What I do include are generally in the public domain. However, if anybody  thinks that a location link should be removed please contact me and I will act accordingly.

Onto the second half of the orchid season, and while earlier there had been  some brilliant displays, those orchids flowering later seem to have suffered somewhat from a prolonged hot and dry spell of weather,  especially in southern England. So a reasonable start to the season, but a rather lack-lustre finish. I have plans for 2023, if I can fit them  all in, but a return to real normality (rather than that new normality  that seemed to drag on and on and on).

This hybrid Cyp is thriving in my front garden.

I have added smart links to these pages to help navigation, at least back as far as 2015. Earlier than that needs more work. Firstly the outings listings, for reasons too long to explain, are in reverse order and need rearranging. Also the thumbnails are too small and all need to be redone. A long and tedious task. I may work on the first bits over this winter.

It was with sadness that I heard that nature enthusiast Bryan Yorke passed away this spring. Bryan loved every aspect of nature, particularly his home area, as showcased in his I Love Arnside & Silverdale blog. Each spring he noted all the migrating birds on a daily basis, and was  never one to keep any of his knowledge to himself, as those who followed him on Twitter and Faceboook can testify. However, for me it was his  devotion to the Epipactis species on Hutton Roof Crags that marked Bryan out for me. He knew virtually plant there, allotting them numbers, following their progress, telling us his thoughts, and protecting the  more significant ones from the marauding deer. I and many others are really going to miss him. Farewell Bryan, you gave so much to us.