Talacre Dunes, 21st June 2023 (SJ 11308 84954) 

We are here a bit later than usual and it shows. Trying to find any Early Marsh Orchids in flower is only slightly less than impossible. Plenty of spikes setting seed but only one that got up early enough to join in the fun. Nice displays of Northern Marsh Orchids, Pyramidal Orchids, Dactylorhiza x venusta, and what (according to my criteria for the Minera flora) are Welsh Marsh Orchids. A surprising lack of Common Spotted though. We just get to the end of the orchidaceous parts of the dunes, as far from the car as possible, when it starts to spit with rain. Within 5 minutes it is a full blown thunderstorm and we are soaked to the skin. At least it waited till I had my photos.

   
D. x venusta                                   Welsh Marsh Orchids
 

Orton 26th June 2023 (NY 61996 06216 and NY 63945 07922) 

Another long trip up the M6. I have heard good reports about orchids and the road verges around Orton, but two years ago we had a look on the way back from Clyburn Moss and drew a blank. That was July though. We first stop on the road between Teebay vilage and Orton, There are some Northern Marsh Orchids but not much else. Moving on to the road leading east from Orton we see splashes of punky-purples and find some Common Spotted Orchids. A couple look like they are not pure-bred stock. So a bit of a disappointment and there is little else to say.

Tarn Moss 26th June 2023 (NY 67537 07833) 

This is just a bit further down the road. I thought we had been here before and saw nothing, but it must have been somewhere totally different. We try the northern side first and there are plenty of Northern Marsh Orchids. These, on the whole are quite intensely coloured. There are also some hybrids, but of what? Northern Marsh must be one parent.

Then there are these which do not fit any one species, and are therefore presumabably Dactylorhiza hybrids. The first could be D. x latirella, the cross between North and Early Marsh Orchids. The other three, unusual with their two-tone appearance may be D. x formosa, the cross between Northern Marsh and Heath Spotted Orchids. Didn’t see the lattter species, but both that and the hybrids have been recorded here.

Across the road and down towards the tarn are more Northern Marsh, plus what I hope is D. incarnata var. pulchella. This spot is just the right sort of habitat for a bog loving plants. Very wet, loads of sphagnum, and plenty of cotton grass. And they have been recorded here too.

Little Asby 26th June 2023 (NY 69920 10156)

Another place that I thought we had been to before, but it looks totally different. I think the last time - I was on the way to Waitby Greenriggs - must have been on a totally different road and possibly explains why we found nought then. Now we are here I am not sure where the unfenced area is the Little Asby Outrakes or the Inrakes, but as we can see orchids from the car who cares. There are Northern Marsh Orchids, Heath Spotted Orchids, and best of all, Heath Fragrant Orchids. I have not seen these with confidence in many places. You can find HFO lookalikes within Marsh Fragrant or Chalk Fragrant populations. Inevitably there are also some classic D. x formosa. Little Asby`s main claim to fame is for its Small White Orchids, but these have not been seen for the past three years. I spot where they would be seen. A caged spot with markers.

Smardale 26th June 2023 (NY 72920 07461)

Final stop of the day. There is a carpark, signposted, just outside the village on the former railway line. An old truck acts as a hide where you can get closeup views of birds on some feeders, including greater spotted woodpeckers. The old railway line is a footpath going both ways, so which direction? To the left you come to Waitby Greenriggs, but while this is a good orchid site we have been there before. So, it is to the right and onto Smardale valley. The are Common Spotted Orchids even before we get to the village, and also a quick glimpse of a red squirrel scuttling away. Not much beyond the village though a notice does say there are Broad-leaved Hellecorines in the old woodland tumbling down into the valley. Further on where it all opens out a bit are more Common Spotteds and a good number of Marsh Fragrant Orchids. One of these towers over the rest and I would say it is a candidate for a polyploid example of this species.