Calypso, Wrexham Industrial Estate, 29th June 2013

A tip off at a chance conversation leads me to this site. The Calypso factory lies on a dead-end road, and opposite is a wide verge that had been mowed a few weeks ago. Almost immediately we spot scattered Bee Orchids in flower, mainly but not exclusively, under the shade of the beech trees there. A few are growing in the unmown grass beyond including one with eight flowers. If the mower had struck a bit later most would have been cut off in their prime. Let's hope they can set seed before he returns.
A walk across the untended ground beyond reveals pockets of Common Spotted Orchids in a range of colours and intensity of markings, together with the odd Southern Marsh and a probable x grandis. Lots of 5-Spot Burnet moths just hatched out too.

The Bee Orchids

The Common Spotteds, a Southern Marsh and a hybrid

Alyn Waters Country Park, 27th June 2013

After being tipped off to Bee Orchids here last year but leaving it too late (I did visit eventually but even the Helleborines were past their prime) I made a resolution that I would catch them in 2013. And managed to keep this one.
The path from the Llay side car-park towards the woods has a number of areas, where the un-mown grasses are shorter and here its quite easy to spot Bee Orchids in flower (once you get your eyes focussed). At least 100 were easily spotted without straying too far from the path. I manage to get some interesting photos including one with a beetle feeding on a flower, and another with the flower just unfurling with the labellum still long and pointed; this is before it curls back on itself. At first glance I thought I may have found a var trollii Wasp Orchid, but the markings are typical Bee Orchid.
Elsewhere, the Common Twayblades are as numerous as last year, Common Spotted Orchids are here and there, while the Dune and Green Flowered Helleborines are still two weeks from flowering or more. No sign of any Fragrant Orchids yet, but that's not to be unexpected. There's an organised walk coming up in mid July. If I go on it I may find out some more secrets of this park, but it means trooping around with a host of others and waiting my turn to snap away.

                               Typical              Unfurling          with beetle       pale Twayblade   possible hybrid

Near Folkestone 18th June 2013

A trip down to Dover to catch an early morning ferry (en-route to the Le Mans for the 24 Hour motor racing) allows me a chance to visit a few sites late afternoon and early evening for species that are almost exotic for those like me living in North Wales.

First off was the downs above the Channel Tunnel rail freight terminal. Having been given some rather good directions for a Late Spider Orchid site I naturally wander off in the wrong direction, but this provides some good panoramic views. Wandering back I notice a guy with pro-camera kneeling on the grass and know exactly what he was shooting. There on a bank are a number of Late Spiders in full flower, together with a smaller number of Man Orchids. Two `firsts' in the space of 20 feet. I chat with the camera guy for a while. He is going to do a walking talk in the area for all the wild flowers there later in the week. He is next off to see if he could find some LSO x Bee Orchid hybrids; tempting to tag along, but time is limited and it seemed a big `if'. So off to the next site

Lydden Hill, Kent, 18th June 2013

This site is alongside what was the old A2 into Dover, just over a stile and in the flat ground and on the bank is a sizable colony of Man Orchids; better than the previous site and all in perfect flower. Plenty of photos taken here. This must be a managed site as many of the plants had been marked with sticks stuck in the ground near to them. However a number of plants were missing such a stick and you have to be careful not to step on these!

Near to where I parked were a couple of caged plants, but whatever they were protecting from being nibbled must have highlighted whatever orchid was growing there for the flower stalk had been picked.

Sandwich Bay, 18th June 2013

This is a well known site for the Lizard Orchid with perhaps thousands of them across the Royal St Georges golf course and just about anywhere nearby. Access from Sandwich itself is by a toll road, but if you park at the Bird Observatory they let you in for just œ1. Go after 6pm and the tool booth is unmanned and you can drive down to the beach road, turn right and park a few hundred yards down the road
Immediately I can see the Lizard Orchids, both within the golf course and on the dune-like bit between the road and the pebble beach. I have been warned that the cold spring of 2013 was delaying the flowing period of most flowers by a couple of weeks, and had contacted the observatory a few days earlier and they were doubtful that any would be in flower. I wasn't going to let this deter me though, as this was perhaps the one chance for a while to see any - flowering or not. While most were still in bud, it wasn't too long before some in partial and full flower are found. Both pale and more heavily marked examples can be seen. The only disappointment was that they weren't as tall as I had hoped. They grow both on the links, accessed via the public footpath, and the sandy bank between the beach and the road.
Another rarity that was common there was the Clove-Scented Broomrape, Yes it does small of cloves.

Group of unopened                  Unopened                       View of the links

Darker form                  Lighter form                  Nearly out

                                                   Sandwich Bay             Clove Scented Broomrape

Nob End reserve near Bolton, 14th June 2013

Big decision! Do we go today or tomorrow? The weather looks showery both days on the forecast, but could be windier tomorrow. At 9am its a bit overcast, but dry. So we take the opportunity. The sun even breaks out on the journey, but as soon as we get near Manchester the showers start. Still its not raining when we arrive
Nob End is part of the Moses Gate Country Park just outside Bolton. Its an old industrial site and where soda ash was dumped in the 19th century. Consequently the soil is quite alkaline, but orchids can be some of the early colonisers of such habitats. Nob End is known for its Marsh Orchids, though apparently no-one was aware of them until a local girl took some into school one day and the teacher recognised them for what they were.

We start following the path from the carpark past the visitor centre and almost immediately there is an un-mown bank with Southern Marsh Orchids, showing some degree of variation. Go carry on, over the bridge, along the bank of River Croal and come to the Nob End reserve. In the more open area are more Southern March and Northern Marsh Orchids. There is quite a range of variations in some specimens, and as the site is noted for its hybrids I am probably not too mistaken if I take it that some with characteristics of two species are indeed hybrids. These seem to show a some of the Southerns with either Northern or Early Marsh Orchid, though the only true one of these seen was var coccinea, which has a deep red colour and today was nowhere near flowering. There could be some intermixture with the Common Spotted Orchids, but this is less likely. The was also what looks like a Leopard Marsh Orchid, D. praetissima var junialis. It has at least one leaf with hollow round large dark spots with dark bars on other leaves. The flowers also resemble the SMO, but the labellum has bold unbroken crimson lines. Both these are features of the Leopard. Of course it could be a Southern Marsh x Common Spotted hybrid (and that's the opinion of others who are more knowledgeable than me), but that's still worth a mention.
Halfway around and the heavens open. It doesn't last long but now the vegetation is all wet and feet and trousers are well soaked. There is no sign of the Fragrant Orchid nor the Marsh Helleborines, but these are later flowering and those who know reckon everything is two weeks late this year anyway.

Southern Marsh     Northern Marsh    Probable hybrid    var coccines   Leopard Spotted?

Minera and nearby, 12th June 2013

Just a revisit to an old familiar site. On the top of the hill between Gwynfryn and the quarry the Early Purple Orchids are putting on a good, if slightly belated display. The quarry however is largely fenced off now Why? There is a public footpath here and it looks like you can circumvent the fence to use it. But delayed flowering has resulted in quite a poor display for this week this year. There are some Northern Marsh and Southern Marsh Orchids in flower, but the Common Spotteds are still way of and the Broad Leaved Helleborines ditto. (Note to myself - I have never seen these in flower, so must remedy this). No sign at all of the Fragrants nor the Twayblades; the latter is a mystery.

North Wales Coast, 10th June 2013

A visit to three recognised sites, all on limestone hills near the coast in Denbighshire.

The first was woodland where the Fly Orchid, Ophrys insectifera, has been recorded recently, albeit a single plant in 2010. This was in the realms of needle in a haystack, though there was one small square approximately in the area of the last sighting which had recently been fenced off. There appeared to be no orchids within that patch, but close by were Early Purple and Lesser Butterfly Orchids. This was thin deciduous woodland with some ground cover, and there were tall (>70cm) examples of both species to be found in full flower. One particularly robust Lesser Butterfly was noticeably quite yellow flowered, especially compared to those nearby and those seen in woodland at Llynllys.

The other sites are local nature reserves. The first promised Green Winged Orchids, but delivered nothing. The second was somewhat better. Though nothing was found below the cliff faces, on top were some Early Purple Orchids just a bit off their prime. Not found in great numbers, they were found in groups, particularly where gorse had been hacked right back or killed recently. A couple of pairs with very pale and very deep colouration and growing together were found

Denbighshire 8th June 2013

The first orchid outing of the year. Some may say I'm leaving it a bit late, but I have found in other years going out too soon does not always work; especially this year with a cold spring that seems to have put any growing season back two weeks or more. Even the Mayflowers hadn't really appeared until June.

The visit was to a site previously marked as a site for Frog Orchids, I have been recently looking for these at other known sites, and where I have seen them years ago, all to no avail. These actual site(s) are on limestone hills in mid Denbighshire where limestone quarrying had formerly taken place. We had planned to take a footpath directly to one site but found that it actually directed you down a house's front path, through the back garden and over a stile. While we may have had right of way an alternative route that didn't pass by anybody's kitchen window was chosen. That actually was good fortune. The other path led to the old limestone workings and Frog Orchids were found by the dozen. They were widely spread out, never in clumps, and all in full flower. Only one showed any reddish colouration, and whether that it grew in the shade was the reason or a red-herring I don't know. One of the photographs taken shows an ant within one of the flowers. This is probably by chance as they are not recognised as pollinators.

Other orchids there were Common Spotteds and Common Twayblades, both with flower stalks still developing. A single Early Purple in flower was seen in a (well manured) horse field that we crossed (tip-toed) on the way back to the car.
It was also nice to see some Dingy Skippers there feeding on the yellow vetch.

Click any of the thumbnails to view full photo

Dactylorhiza viridis

      
note the ant!

      
The general lie of the land          L. ovata                   D. fuchsii             O. mascula

The Dingy Skipper