Frog Orchid

Searching closer to home today, looking for Frog Orchids at Fairmile Bottom. We had seen a couple there last year so had one area to search but we were fortunate in meeting up with two of the West Sussex countryside rangers who look after the site. An exchange of information and we had another area for Frog Orchids and also some helliborines to investigate.

Fairmile Bottom is a big area and Frog Orchids are not easy to find but with an idea on where to look we ended up finding about a dozen spikes. The lime green colour of the fresh spikes gives them away even when growing in long grass and they are best spotted when viewed at a low angle rather than looking down on them.

Frog Orchid - Dactylorhiza viridis

Frog Orchid - Dactylorhiza viridis

Frog Orchid - Dactylorhiza viridis

Frog Orchid - Dactylorhiza viridis

Frog Orchid - Dactylorhiza viridis

There were a good number of Bee Orchids around the area with some still looking fresh but Fly Orchids have mostly gone over

Bee Orchid - Ophrys apifera

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I got a bit excited when I saw one of the Bee Orchids. It looks as though it should be something unusual but it's just a bee orchid where the lip and nib have not turned under.

Bee Orchid - Ophrys apifera

More Green Stuff

It has all been very quiet on the birding front and even the butterflies have been slow as we wait for the summer species to appear. The solution, spend some more time looking for Orchids. Sussex can sometimes seem like a Bermuda Triangle for interesting birds, particularly at this time of year, but I can't complain about the variety of Orchids. You just need a lot of time to search for them.

Hollingsbury Hill and Wellcombe Bottom with twelve species of orchid recorded, looked like a good starting point. We didn't manage to the find the scarce Man Orchids but Fly, Greater Butterfly, Chalk Fragrant and especially Common Twayblades were found in good numbers.

Fly Orchid  -  Ophrys insectifera

Fly Orchid  -  Ophrys insectifera

Greater Butterfly Orchid  -  Platanthera chlorantha

Greater Butterfly Orchid  -  Platanthera chlorantha

Chalk Fragrant Orchid  -  Gymnadenia conopsea

Chalk Fragrant Orchid  -  Gymnadenia conopsea

Common Twayblade  -  Neottia ovata

Common Twayblade  -  Neottia ovata

Common Twayblade  -  Neottia ovata

As with the Twayblade above, not every orchid gives you a colourful flower to photograph and to help you locate them. Some are just dull greens and tend to blend into the background. The Twayblade being taller is easier to see. The Frog Orchid below, at another site, took a lot more searching and it looks as though this is as good as it gets flower wise.

Frog Orchid  -  Coeloglossum viride

The Birds Nest Orchid goes one step further. A dull brown colour, it survives by digesting fungi in the ground rather than by the process of photosynthesis. It only appears above ground as a flower spike. Fortunately in its favoured environment of deep leaf litter in shaded Beech woods there is little else growing to conceal it. This specimen just a bit past its best!

Birds Nest Orchid  -  Neottia nidus-avis

Back to more colourful varieties, Pyramidal Orchids are now starting to appear in good numbers all across the downs.

Pyramidal Orchid  -  Anacamptis pyramidalis

Pyramidal Orchid  -  Anacamptis pyramidalis

and below a very pale Chalk Fragrant

Chalk Fragrant Orchid  -  Gymnadenia conopsea v albiflora

At least I assume all the Fragrants were variety Chalk Fragrant. I am not sure that I have the skills yet to differentiate between Chalk, Heath and Marsh.

Orchids

On Tuesday I may have made a fatal mistake. Poor returns on the Sussex Commons, with very few birds found and with a cold easterly wind keeping the butterflies in cover, left us with an afternoon and nowhere to go. Dave suggested having a look for a particular orchid that he wanted to photograph and I was happy to go along with the idea.

I have spent many a session standing by whilst Dave crawled around on his hands and knees gardening and photographing wild flowers, but I have never really understood the fascination with orchids. This would have probably just been another one of those sessions except that we didn't find the the target species.

Nothing brings the "train spotting" genes to the fore like missing a target and Wednesday morning having regrouped and clarified our search data we set off for another go. It wasn't exactly easy to find but after a bit of searching we were successful, the Bee Orchid v flavescens.

Bee Orchid v flavescens  -  Ophrys apifera v flavescens

Bee Orchid v flavescens  -  Ophrys apifera v flavescens

Floret of the Bee Orchid v flavescens  -  Ophrys apifera v flavescens

Also in the same area, the Common Spotted Orchid, more Bee Orchid and also a few Frog Orchids.

Common Spotted Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Common Spotted Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Common Spotted Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Common Spotted Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Bee Orchid  -  Ophrys apifera

Bee Orchid  -  Ophrys apifera

Bee Orchid  -  Ophrys apifera

Frog Orchid  -  Coeloglossum viride

Frog Orchid  -  Coeloglossum viride

Then on to Ferring Rife where Southern Marsh Orchids seem to grow in profusion. I say seem to, as there are references on the web, to some experts believing most of them to be hybrids of the Common Spot and Early Marsh Orchids, both of which are present on the site in smaller numbers.

With my knowledge of Orchids that level of identification is beyond me. It looks like a Southern Marsh Orchid so that is what I will call it.

Southern Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza praetermissa

Southern Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza praetermissation

Southern Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza praetermissa

Floret of the Southern Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza praetermissa

And the Early Marsh Orchid

Early Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza incarnata

Early Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza incarnata

Early Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza incarnata

Floret of the Early Marsh Orchid  -  Dactylorhiza incarnata

Then I managed to find a picture of a Dark-red Helleborine that we photographed on Gait Barrow a few years ago. It was a bit past its best but I am glad I took the time to record it.

Dark-red Helleborine  -  Epipactis atrorubens

I thought this would be easy. Just take a few pictures of Orchids and identify them from pictures on the web. I can't believe how complex the identification can be. Hybrids, sub-species, variants and colour morphs, all have left me with little confidence in anything I am putting a name to. Two days lost just reading up on Orchids.

It has been suggested that I have picked up a dose of  "Orchidelirium" a highly contagious disease. I really didn't need this. Life is too short.