Talacre Dunes 1st July 2016 (SJ 1177284993)

I have been here a few times, but not during the orchid season since I have kept proper notes and taken photographs. They lie at the north east corner of Wales just round the corner from the mouth of the Dee estuary. Talacre may be best known for its haunted lighthouse on the beach. The dunes themselves look different to other west coast dunes (Ynys Las, Morfa Harlech, Ainsdale or Sandscale) being quite reminiscent of Lindisfarne. One tip - avoid on a warm sunny weekend as hundreds make the trip for the beach and the approach road gets congested big time.
We set off down the maintained path on the landward side of the dune system. It is here we find the majority of the Pyramidal Orchids. They are well established with some strapping specimens. I can see some variation in the lip shapes. There are those with equal sized three-pronged lips, which may be slim or rather wide. Then there are others with larger side lobes which actually have a touch of the emarginata to them. A number of potential pollinators can be seen.

Pyramidal Orchids showing the varied lip shapes

With nothing else found we follow the path into the centre of the dunes, and continue towards Prestatyn. We are met by hundreds of Northern Marsh Orchids. These are of classic appearance with deep purple flowers with bright magenta loops and dashes on the shield shaped lips. Mixed with them are sub-population of paler Dactyls, which are evidently earlier flowering; most are starting to go over. These seem to have Common Spotted Orchid colouration, but are clearly not xvenusta (the Northern Marsh x Common Spotted hybrid). For the time being these will have to remain a mystery! xlaterella (the Early Marsh x Northern Marsh hybrid) perhaps; that could explain the early flowering.

Typical Northern Marsh Orchids

The paler early flowering population.

There are also two further sub-populations which resemble the var cambrensis at Eryrys a few days ago. There is a mildly spotted leaf type. It has flowers with a trilobed lip, light coloured with bright purple loops and lines. And there is a second type with unmarked leaves and similar flowers, though the markings are more dots and dashes. The latter have just started to set seed so must flower a few days earlier. I can only conclude that if they are not D. purpurella cambrensis and D. x venusta they are both part of the same population. The spotted leaf plants seem to have slightly paler flower colour providing greater contrast with the lip markings, but none of the photos show if the bracts are spotted (as described for var cambrensis).
Finally we see some Common Spotted Orchids. They are not numerous, and it is hard to see how they could make a big contribution to any hybrids. That said they do grow with the Northern Marsh and other similar orchids.

The spotted leaf variants

and the unspotted leaf forms.

Making our way back towards Talacre there are some Early Marsh Orchids - not a lot though. The pink(ish) flowered D. incarnata incarnata have largely gone over, but being nice robust plants they would have put on a good show. The D. incarnata coccinea are far and few, rather small, but in full flower and  very showy. Finally and unexpectedly a Bee Orchid, at the end of flowering, is spotted.

 
In order, Common Spotted, Early Marsh incarnata and coccinea, and a fading Bee Orchid

Alyn Waters 4th July 2016 (SJ 3200754670)

Up till now our orchid sightings here have been on the Llay side of the country park - it is actually two large areas with the River Alyn, a road, and some homes providing the separation. We did actually visit the Gwersyllt side back in 2013, taking the path from the visitor down to the river, but saw no orchids. However a report posted online praised this area and indicated that previously we had been going in the wrong direction.
We went behind the visitor centre, and immediately were greeted by large numbers of Common Spotted Orchids. Then, partly hidden in the undergrowth, were a few Pyramidal Orchids which we and others have not seen at this location before. Further on we come across the parent colony of these outliers, where some 100 are counted. Surprisingly, the Common Twayblades, an omnipresent species over the river, are quite infrequent.

 
The Pyramidal colony and one of the Twayblades

Some of the Common Spotted Orchid variation here
Does the fourth one look a bit Heath Spotted about the lip? Perhaps not.

A clearing in front of a copse revealed two more species which provided a bit of a conundrum. There were late flowering Bee Orchids and early flowering Dune Helleborines. The books will tell you there is no overlap between the flowering of these two species. It is only a couple of Dune Helleborines actually in flower; most will need at least a couple more weeks. Some show an unusual yellowish colouration of the flower stem and ovary, which I have not seen before. Quite a number of these were also found along a path that passed through more woodland. On one flower is a gnat, one of which must have bitten my hand, causing an allergic reaction resulting in my entire hand and fingers to swell up, itch like mad and ache!

Dune Helleborines with the gnat on the second photo and the yellow ovaries showing on the third.

The Bee Orchids are well established with one having nine flowers on a tall spike. The look a bit ratty being towards the end of flowering, but some look rather odd. These are not genetic variants, but seem to be developmental aberrations - they seem to be deformed and lack lip pattern symmetry; virus, aphid or weather causing damage to the buds at a critical stage perhaps. Overall there were perhaps 50 Bee Orchids here.

The Bee Orchids with the aberrations on the bottom row

Gresford Colliery 8th July 2016 (SJ 3377253925)

Gresford Colliery finally closed in 1973, and much of the site including the spoil heap has been left to nature for the past 43 years. The site lies close to both Alyn Waters and Marford Quarry and so seems a good bet for orchids. Even as we walk around I am reminded of locations with interesting orchid floras like former industrial sites Marford Quarry and Newman's Flash, while I am well aware of the so-called Young's Helleborines found at Scottish `bings'. But despite numerous wild flowers here, an extensive search reveals no orchids. Retreating to the other side of the Chester to Shrewsbury railway line, where the colliery sidings lay, the woodland habitat is very much like Marford Quarry. But it only when we come to an open grass area do we find a few Common Spotted Orchids.

Minera Quarry 10th July 2016 (SJ 2540852117)

We return to this limestone quarry after a couple of years following some rather slightly disappointing orchid shows in more recent years. This quarry is a massive area (some 300,000  tons of limestone was removed) and we have not covered half of it at least. Previously we have looked around the entrance and the first rock  face, the woodland slopes and ledges on the right, the top of the first rock face having crossed over from Gwynfryn, the large flattened area, now grassy and straight ahead as you enter, and the farmer's path that  leads off and up to the right.
But any  misgivings about the flora here are rapidly dissipated today. 2016 has a fine show of may thousands of Common Spotted, Marsh Fragrant and  Pyramidal Orchids. These seem to have colonised areas those were either sparse for orchids or barren previously - or did we turn up at the wrong time of year?
First off though, after following the entrance path that runs by the river, past the rock face now fenced off, I have a look at the Broad-leaved Helleborines that grow near the gate to the lane that loops up and round to Gwynfryn. Clearly a good year for these too. Though they are some way off flowering, I can stand at one point and count over 40 spikes  within a few feet of my position.

From here we enter the quarry proper. The surface for a couple of hundred  yards in every direction is leveled with large (1 inch) limestone chippings but at the start there is now plant colonisation with quite a  flora, with many Common Spotted, Marsh Fragrant and Pyramidal Orchids. The Fragrants in particular seem to have a preference for less  competition growing more on the peripheries, but do not seem to mind the birch and other saplings. Could these saplings be a problem in the  future, or will the orchids just colonise new areas in a plant succession?

The variety of the Common Spotted Orchids

The Marsh Fragrant Orchids


The range of colour seen of the Pyramidal Orchids

Across the R. Sychnant by the wooden bridge is a previously unexplored area. It's more of the same plus a couple of others of note. There are a pair of Dactylorhizas, the only two marsh orchids we see today. They probably have D. purpurella sap in their veins but also have spotted leaves. Neither is very tall. And there is a oddity - I do spot another similar plant later - which seems to be a `failed' flower; a pale Common Spotted Orchid like one seen at Eryrys. Neither is in flower and perhaps neither will open properly. They have that look to them.

The Marsh Orchids

The peloric forms

The track beyond is steep and a scouting mission reveals only Common Spotted lining the woodland either side. So we cross back and follow the stream. Again more Marsh Fragrants where not much else grows. Here the  star of the day is found - a single pure white G. densiflora albiflora, next door to a typical example. Its scent was quite faint compared to the normal pink forms. Why so few abnormal forms?  Perhaps the  high numbers of plants equates with high gene flow hampering recessives and so on coming together. We only see a few Common Twayblades.

We cross over again; I say cross, but there is no stream up here. All  dried up. Time to explore an area we have not seen before. The path  leads up the part of the quarry that was last in use about 1993. There  is a huge pit, hundreds of yards across, and fairly deep with a partly  waterlogged floor. Today, though we confine ourselves to having a look around the top, going either way from the start point. I had read that  Northern Marsh could be found here, but it was still more and more of the usual suspects. Next year perhaps come back earlier in the year, see if the bottom of the pit is accessible and safe, and explore what looks to be a large sloping grassy area beyond the pit.
I still have not rediscovered the Frog Orchid here, last seen along a path that ran atop the rock face at the entrance to the site. Next year perhaps?