Orchid Extravaganza...

Hard to believe it's been 4 years since my brother and I ventured over to the Chiltern Hills to revisit some very rare orchids we had first seen in 1982. We had such a great trip that we decided to repeat it again last Saturday and this time we were joined by my friend Nigel Marven and a good buddy of his, Anthony Henn.  As it turned out, it was 36 years to the day since we first made this trip with our late cousin to see these magnificent plants, making this trip all the more poignant.

After an early start we rendezvoused with Anthony at a nearby pub to our first port of call, Homefield Wood SSSI. Homefield is our nearest site (there are only a few in the UK) for the very rare Military or Soldier Orchid.

Military Orchid, Homefield Wood.

Nigel and Anthony admiring a small group of Military Orchids.

There is only a little variation in the flower shades.
This one was a bit darker.

Duncan Harris getting a close-up photo...

...as was Nigel.

Another fine specimen.

They were surprisingly advanced with their flowering this year with many starting to show signs of going over but there were still some stunning specimens to be found. There were lots of other species in flower too.

Common Spotted Orchids.

The Fly Orchids were one of the highlights for Nigel. They're very unusual looking plants it has to be said.

Nigel photographing a Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid, the lip is usually darker.

This one is more typical.

Several Greater Butterfly Orchids were found flowering along the edge of the meadow.

Greater Butterfly Orchid

Greater Butterfly Orchid , flower 

White Helleborine was another expected species, growing in the deeper shade of the woods next to the meadow.

White Helleborine

Anthony, absorbed in capturing the moment. 

Birdsnest Orchid, Homefield Wood

By the time we had finished we had tallied nine species of orchid in an area little more than the size of two tennis courts, amazing!

Military Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid, Fly Orchid, Broad-leaved Helleborine (not in flower), White Helleborine, Bee Orchid (not in flower), Greater Butterfly Orchid, Pyramidal Orchid (in bud) and Birdsnest Orchid

After a coffee break back at the Dog & Badger just outside Marlow, we drove the 16 miles across to Hartslock Nature Reserve above the Thames to look for Monkey Orchids. This is another incredibly rare species with just a couple of sites left in the UK. After reaching the site and hiking up the orchid slope, the views are just breath-taking, both on the ground and across the Thames to Goring.

Nigel and myself at Hartslock for the second mega-rare orchid of the day.

The Monkey Orchids were definitely going over.
They are a little earlier, peaking in May

The dominating orchids at Hartslock aren't the famous Monkey Orchids though. They have hybridised with Lady Orchid, which is very scarce at the site, to produce a much larger, robust kind of 'Super Monkey Orchid' forming quite a colony along the base of the wood at the top of the meadow.

Hybrid Lady x Monkey Orchid

Clustered Bellflower

Sainfoin, Hartslock

Egyptian Goose by the Thames. 

After a fantastic morning out, it was time for lunch. We walked back into Goring along the Thames footpath, sat and ate sandwiches in the shade and then said our farewells to Anthony who parted company with us here. Nigel, Duncan and myself hadn't finished orchid hunting yet though and we set off for an afternoon visit to Martin Down National Nature Reserve situated about 10 miles west of Salisbury.

I've visited this site many times before and it rarely disappoints. We were soon hearing a Cuckoo, Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings singing away from the tops of the bushes. Common Blue butterflies were abundant and occasionally interspersed with a stunning Adonis Blue for good measure. A few Marsh Fritillary were also seen.

Adonis Blue, male

Corn Bunting 

Orchids soon began to appear in te shorter turf including our first Chalk Fragrant of the day, Common Spotted Orchids...

And the star-of-the-show at Martin, the stunning little Burnt Orchid!  They took a while to find but we ended up seeing 10-12 of these charismatic little orchids - one of my favourites.

Burnt Orchid, Martin Down

Burnt Orchid, one shot is never enough.

A first for Nigel, he was captivated by these little beauties.

Burnt Orchid, small clump at Martin Down.

A hugely successful day. Thirteen species of orchid in total (not including the Monkey x Lady hybrid). I look forward to a repeat in a few year's time.