Man Orchid

In learning of a small colony of Man Orchids in southern Warwickshire just 25 minutes or so from work in Banbury, I was pretty keen to take a look! So, on Wednesday 27/05 I drove over after work to take a look.

They took a bit of finding, however, I eventually found the right area, seeing 13 in total as well as numerous Common Twayblades and the odd Common Spotted Orchid starting to emerge. 

To be honest, I'm not sure Man Orchid is the right name for them. Think they look more like little aliens!!

Fly-tastic

After a fair old bit of umming & ahhing, I decided to earmark Monday (25/05) to take the long old drive across to the Norfolk Broads to finally see the Swallowtails which I'd never taken the time to see. HOWEVER, the weather decided to cut short the masterplan with heavy cloud forecast for the whole day. Humph!

Time for Plan B! I did have an alternative idea and it also didn't mean such an early start. So, mid-morning I set off down to the Buckinghamshire Chilterns for a fix of butterflies & orchids. For once, a largely bird-free day!

With actually a fair bit of sun about, I started my day at one of my fave butterfly sites, Yoesden Bank, on the side of a lovely leafy & unspoiled, rural valley. It is an excellent site for Adonis & Small Blue and I was keen to see them both, particularly the latter.

It soon became apparent that Common Blues were everywhere. The place was just full of them!

It wasn't too long before I found the first of probably 5-6 Adonis Blues in total. They really are cracking things and generally, a lot more obliging than the rather skittish Common Blues.

I did eventually find a Small Blue but literally ONE, which was disappointing, though not overly surprising as there was very little Kidney Vetch in flower (their larval food plant). After a short while, I lost it as it fluttered off purposefully down the slope. It was though, a smashing little specimen!

Also present were a couple of Green Hairstreak, a Grizzled Skipper & several Dingy Skipper.

  














Despite an extensive search, I failed to find the Small Blue again, or any others for that matter. They seem to be very late in emerging this year.

I then made my way on to my second and final site of the day, Homefield Wood near Marlow to see two exceptionally interesting and exciting orchids.

After winding through the stunning leafy lanes of the area, I parked up at the entrance to the wood and walked a short distance along the forest track to the Wildlife Trust reserve. Before long, I was enjoying a brilliant array of beautiful Military Orchids across a relatively small grassy-sloped clearing. Homefield Wood, I believe is one of only three places in the country to see these beautiful things, making them ridiculously rare! They get their name from the small, people-shaped petals resembling little soldiers with helmets and buttons down their chest!

The main reason for my visit though, was to see the simply exquisite Fly Orchids! Quirky, incredible...there are many superlatives to describe them. For me, they are simply fascinating and I can't quite get my head around the fact that a plant has evolved to create actual fake black flies as flowers, in order to ensure they are pollinated!! They certainly didn't disapoint.

A walk round to another small cleared area, close by, revealed far more of both Orchids, keeping me occupied for quite a while!

On leaving, I also stumbled across a couple of Greater Butterfly Orchids, however they were not quite in flower. What a place!

Brown Argus & Wood Whites

On Monday 11/05, I popped into Helmdon Old Railway Sidings on the way home from work to look for Grizzled Skipper. The site has a tiny colony but as yet I hadn't managed to find one.

On this occasion I again failed with the Grizzled however, I was pleased to find my first Brown Argus of the year, a male.

The next day I paid the site a further visit in brighter weather, again after work. A far more fruitful visit, with a single roosting Grizzled Skipper.

Brown Argus numbers were up to 3-4 and my first Common Blue of the year too.

Late May sees the emergence of the Wood White butterflies, a real South Northants speciality. Bucknell, Hazelborough & Whistley Woods all hold populations and all are around 10 minutes from where I live in Brackley. I find Bucknell the easiest, seeing them only a short distance away from where I park up.

I made two visits on both Sunday 23/05 & Monday 24/05, both in pretty dreary conditions. Thankfully, on both occasions I was able to find a few, with 2 on Sunday and around 7-8 on Monday. Also of note on the Monday was a brief Painted Lady that landed on a leaf for about a second before zooming off up the ride and into the distance!