Military Orchid

Another week and another journey in search of Orchids. This time to the Chilterns with the first stop Homefield Woods for the Military Orchid. Follow the postcode for the Beds, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust site. Use a map for the last couple of hundred metres to the small car parking area. Pass through the gate and about a hundred and fifty metres in, up a path on the right, you are in a small meadow with the Military Orchids.

It was my first visit and I was surprised to get such easy access to such a rare orchid. As far as I am aware there are only three sites in the country where this orchid can be see, two in the Chilterns and one up near Mildenhall.

My pocket guide shows the flowering period as mid May to Mid June but when we arrived on the third of June the bulk of the plants were past there best. We found a couple of good specimens to record but I wouldn't have wanted to be any later.

Military Orchid  -  Orchis militaris

Military Orchid  -  Orchis militaris

Military Orchid  -  Orchis militaris

Military Orchid  -  Orchis militaris

Military Orchid  -  Orchis militaris

Military Orchid floret  -  Orchis militaris

Twayblades, Fly and Bee orchids could also be found in the same small area and there was another meadow area a bit further on which we did not visit. 

Bee Orchid  -  Ophrys apifera

Bee Orchid  -  Ophrys apifera

A quick record of the Bee Orchid and we were off to our next location, the wonderfully named Bix Bottom for the Warburg Nature Reserve. It has to be said that this was a bit of a disappointment. Again this was our first visit. We wanted to have a look around the reserve but our real target was the Lesser Butterfly Orchid. 

It is a big area to cover and we had been hoping that there would be someone on site to give advice. Without that we ended up covering a large area but saw very few orchids, no Butterfly Orchids, not even a Greater and only one White Helleborine. They were probably there somewhere but we were running short of time and decided to cut our losses and head off to Hartslock to look for the Lady/Monkey Hybrids.

White Helleborine  -  Cephalanthera damasonium

Parking up in Goring we walked the mile or so to the Hartslock Reserve. No problem here, the orchids were easy to find, however, they were all well past there best. Careful selection of plants and the use of camera angle and we got acceptable record shots but another couple of days and we would have missed them.

Lady/Monkey Hybrid  -  Orchis purpurea x simia

Lady/Monkey Hybrid  -  Orchis purpurea x simia

Lady/Monkey Hybrid Floret  -  Orchis purpurea x simia

Lady/Monkey Hybrid  -  Orchis purpurea x simia

Lady/Monkey Hybrid  -  Orchis purpurea x simia

The hybrid is quite a robust plant probably dwarfing both its parents. I say probably as there were no Lady Orchids in the area and only a few of the much smaller Monkey Orchids.

Monkey Orchid  -  Orchis simia

Monkey Orchid  -  Orchis simia

We had also intended to have a look for Common Clubtail Dragonflies, at the railway bridge, about a mile up river from Hartslock. It's a reliable site for them but again we were running out of time and so decided to call it a day and head for home.

Another good day with the orchids and at least they don't fly away when you are trying to take a picture.

White Helleborine

Having found my Late Spider Orchid and it still being only eight in the morning I had the opportunity to explore a bit more of Kent. My secondary target for the day was the White Helleborine, which would also be a life tick for me, and being only a few miles from Bonsai Bank I headed over there to begin my search. At least on this visit I would know the shortest route from the car park to the bank.

The Lady Orchids  -  Orchis purpurea were still putting on a good show although many were starting to go over and we have probably passed the peak flowering period.

No shortage of Lady Orchids

Lady Orchid

White dresses and straw bonnets were a great find but unfortunately I was just a few days too late and they were past their best.

Lady Orchid probably Var. albida  -  lacking anthocyanin pigments

Plenty of  Common Twayblades  -  Neottia ovata   around and a few Greater Butterfly Orchids -  Platanthera chlorantha.

Common Twayblade

Greater Butterfly Orchid

Greater Butterfly Orchid

Greater Butterfly Orchid Floret

After much searching I finally found the White Helleborines  -  Cephalanthera damasonium that I had been looking for. Perhaps a bit smaller than I had expected and tending to grow in areas of longer grass, they could be easily missed. However, having seen my first and knowing what to look for I was soon up to about a dozen plants.

White Helleborine

White Helleborine

White Helleborine

White Helleborine

And there was still more to see on the bank. Common Spotted Orchids  -  Dactylothiza fuchsii  were just coming into flower in a few of the more open locations.

Common Spotted Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid

Bonsai Bank had delivered once again. I checked the time of my last photograph 09.22. I had driven a hundred miles from home, visited two sites, found and photographed six different orchids, including two life ticks and it wasn't even half past nine. A fantastic morning but what to do next. Lizard Orchids over at Sandwich Bay were a possibility but I was probably a couple of weeks too early. Heath Fritillary butterflies at Blean Wood seemed a better option and with the sky starting to darken I would have to get there quickly. See the next blog.

Lady Orchid

Next on the list, Lady Orchid, and a trip down into Kent to find it. An early start got us down close to Bonsai Bank before eight thirty. I say close to, as we then took the wrong footpath and ended up taking a bit of a tour around Denge Wood before we found the orchids. Lovely place, nice walk but we had lots of sites to visit that day and it wasn't the best of starts.

There were plenty of Early Purple Orchids around and a good few Lady Orchids coming into flower.

Lady Orchid

Floret from the orchid above

Unfortunately I will be the last person to see this flower. It was trampled by a dog running loose whilst I was in the middle of photographing it. There's a whole wood to walk the dogs in. Why bring them into the fenced off orchid area.

Lady Orchid

Our tour of the wood was actually of benefit. As well as working off a few extra calories we were still on site when the Duke of Burgundy butterflies started to appear. These are a late riser and we would probably have missed them without our delayed arrival. This was my first sighting of these butterflies for the year but it was also a reminder, that now is the time to look for them on the Sussex downs.

Duke of Burgundy

The temptation was to take more pictures of the Dukes but that would be mission drift against the day's targets and we would also risk damaging the site's rare flowers whilst pursuing the butterflies.

There was more to see at Bonsai but we needed to move on so we headed back to the car and made our way over to Yocklett's Bank. More Lady Orchids there plus some early Twayblades and we found a single Fly Orchid.

Lady Orchid

Common and Pink form but no Whites

Lady Orchid

Common Twayblade

Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

Next stop Park Gate Down. A great site but this was more of a recce to find out where it was and where to park. The only orchids showing at the site were the Early Purple but it will be worth a visit later in the year.

Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid

The final destination for the day was Samphire Hoe. I had been there birding a few times but searching for orchids was a first for me. Actually it wasn't much of a search. The warden there is always very helpful, this time he pointed out the Early Spider Orchids in the middle of the car park. Not too far to walk, easy pictures and plenty of time for a cup of tea and a bacon roll before we headed for home.

Early Spider Orchid

Early Spider Orchid

Early Spider Orchid

We are going to need another visit to Kent in two or three weeks time to see a few of the later flowering Orchids. I guess I am getting towards the end of the easy orchid targets and with each one ticked off the challenge will get even harder.


It is perhaps worth recording our thanks to Kent Wildlife Trust and to all their volunteers. I always feel a twinge of guilt when I turn up, benefit from someone else's hard work, and then disappear without making any contribution. I console myself with the thought that Sussex Wildlife Trust benefits from my support instead!