2025 will be a litle different I think as I have also taken up birding; in an enthusiastic but amateur way. Hence orchid site visits for much of the time will be doubling up. And in order to see as many birds as possible there could be some new orchid sites appearing, though nothing to dramatic I suspect.

I had a very pleasing e-mail, which stated `just discovered your Orchid site  the best I've come across to date`, followed by ‘only wished I'd discovered your site earlier`. Nice to be appreciated.

As a result of that exchange I am incorporating a user guide.

The orchid year starts of in March for a change, before jetting of to Portugal - the Algarve to be precise - in very early April. Not the most orchidaceous area of Europe, but there should be some nice new species. This year I am mixing orchids with some birding, and the Faro area looks promising.

After that however, I am racking my brains for anything new concerning UK orchids. I really feel that I have done my extended local area to death, and by revisiting old haunts I am not adding anything new. In fact it seems that some of the sites are evolving, or being reused, so that my list of places visited from earlier days is probably out of date.

By the end of May it has become apparent that the long dry spell here has had a negative effect on the orchids. No new sites and other sites bare of orchids. I may reduce the orchid hunting down to birding sites, and take up the orchids proper again in 2026. Will have to see how it pans out