Lime Kiln Woods, 18th May 2023 (SJ 65438 09591)

A return visit here after a break of a year. There does not seem quite so many Birds-nest Orchids here this time, but there still enough of them, growing in groups, pairs and singly. They seem to have a slight preference for sloping ground, perhaps because they can have the right soil moisture level. What does surprise me is that on the top path, in a clearing, are a few growing in the open, amid the grass, tumbling down a slope from the trees. They do not always grow in the shadier parts of the woodland, pushing through bare soil or leaf litter.

A word of advice. Do not drive up the track to these woods. Park your car down the other side of the motorway in the estate. The drive is private land and you may get a sticker on your windscreen advising that the car`s details have been noted and may be passed to Shropshire police.

Brithdir, 23th May 2023 (SH 76397 18436)

Heading for the west coast of Wales we pass through Brithdir, a short cut that avoids Dolgellau and its road works, and spot a grass verge with a scattering of Heath Spotted Orchids. Not much more to say than that there are about 25 in flower.

near Aberdyfi, 23th May 2023 (SN 64062 96593)

and the reason why we are heading for the coast is these Sword-leaved Helleborines. Unbelievably it is 8 years since we were last here, but unfortunately the site is not as good as I remember it. Definitely they are down in numbers, and while some were obvious on the right hand side of the track, there were very few to be seen amongst last year`s bracken under the trees. Last time was two weeks earlier in the year and it shows! They are going over now, so no fried egg flower photos..
Actually nearly didn`t make it here, after getting mixed up up between Aberdyfi and Barmouth. Would have headed for the wrong estuary if I hadn`t done a last minute check before setting out.

Mollington 23th May 2023

I am keeping detailed information about this site under wraps for now. I will just say that nature is busy reclaiming it. What there is there is the occasional Southern Marsh Orchid until you hit the sweet spot where about a 1,000 are all clustered in one small space between trees, bushes and a path. This land was in use until 2016, so has this arisen only since then, or have they only flourished like this since its disuse? There are no other orchids of the genus to be seen, so what is here is a pretty pure colony with largely consistent appearance. It does not get better than this display. There is the occasional slightly paler flowered plant, but then I notice a small group, obviously derived by vegetative reproduction, with annular markings on the leaves (not very dark at all though) and solid line markings on the lip. This makes me think Leopard Marsh Orchid, D. praetermissa var junialis. No Common Spotted Orchids have been seen here so it is not a hybrid phenomenon. Significantly, perhaps, you may notice that these SMOs do not have long bracts going well beyond the flowers, unlike those at another local site (coming up next). Does this suggest colonisation at the two sites occurred independently?
The other orchid here is a fine, scattered colony of Bee Orchids, only just beginning to flower, which will look just great in a few days time. They seem to prefer the slopes of a slight rise.

Gowy Woods, Cheshire, 29th May 2023 (SJ 44600 71343)

On previous visits here we have seen an almost exponential increase of Southern Marsh Orchid numbers here, but we have not been here since 2019, so how many this year? Well, actually numbers seem to have halved, down from 200 to just under 100 noted. The other growth is taking over, either to the detriment of the SMOs, or obscuring them from a quick count. Note the long bracts.

Llay Industrial Estate, 29th May 2023 (SJ 32295 56601)

Last time we were here the verge had been largely mowed leaving only an orchidaceous strip, but normality returns and no mow signs observed. However, we are a full month earlier than previous visits and the Bee Orchids are only just starting to open. The bad news is that these are showing signs of a lack of rain for the past couple of weeks which is set to continue. This does not bode well for later flowering orchids. There is also one Common Spotted Orchid in flower

May was meant to end with a successful trip to Cors-y-Sarnau, on the road to Bala from Cowen. This is a wetland site silting up and changing to woodland. Despite the notice board at the entrances and the website there were no orchids to be seen. Still it was a pleasant place to visit, but not recommended after rain; the ground is quite spongy even after the recent dry weather.