Red Helleborine

More Orchids today with a trip to North Hampshire for the Marsh Helleborines, then on to Windsor Hill in the Chilterns for the Red Helleborine. Finally returning home via North Hampshire again to pick up a few variants that we had missed on the way.

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris

After looking for Bog Orchids earlier in the week it was good to walk into a field and see the bright colourful Marsh Helleborines without incurring eye strain from the searching.

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris

We found about a dozen plants but we did not want to spend too long looking. A few quick pictures and we were on our way again, this time to join a Berks Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust organised walk to see a Red Helleborine, possibly the only one flowering in the UK this year.   I really didn't want to get into twitching orchids or organised visits but with the plant classed as critically endangered and access rightly restricted you have no choice.

Red Helleborine - Cephalanthera rubra

There was no flower last year and it looked as though it would be a no show again this year but we were lucky and with a late flower spike showing the visit was on.

Red Helleborine - Cephalanthera rubra

I took a lot more than two photographs but then given that there is only one plant and that you can not get very close to it, they all tended to look the same. You couldn't even get close enough to cast a shadow over the plant to give a more subtle lighting but here is my attempt to achieve the same effect in Photoshop.

We also saw putative Broad-leaved and Violet Helleborines. If we cannot find them closer to home we may have to make a return visit to the area.

Broad-leaved Helleborine

Violet Helleborine

Having spoken to a few of the people on the walk we picked up some useful information including details of more Marsh Helleborines close to where we had been looking that morning.It was too good to ignore, so back in Hampshire later that afternoon and lots more Marsh Helleborines including a few variants ochroleuca. The variant lacking brown and purple pigments although still showing purple veins at the centre of the flower.

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris  with  var. ochroleuca on the right

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris  var. ochroleuca

Marsh Helleborine - Epipactis palustris var. ochroleuca

A few of the other orchids picked up during the day - Southern Marsh Orchids and Marsh Fragrants.

Southern Marsh Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid var albiflora

Marsh Fragrant

Marsh Fragrant

An enjoyable day, we saw some good orchids, met some interesting people and learnt a lot more about orchids.

Bog Orchid

I wasn't going to do a blog about finding the Bog Orchid. It's such an insignificant little plant and the pictures are not that exciting. However, this is a diary of my sightings "both interesting and not so interesting" and when I thought about the work that had gone into finding them and the luck that rescued our day, it had to have a blog to itself.

You could say that nothing much happened on Wednesday. We drove down to the New Forest, photographed the Bog Orchid and came home. Nothing else of interest and no other pictures. That takes no account of the research that went into identifying the locations where we might look for the orchid. The six hours we spent bog hopping, head down looking for the plant. The difficulty of spotting such a small, green orchid, in amongst the much taller growth and the difficulty of staying focussed on the search whilst butterflies, dragonflies and birds offered such good viewing opportunities.

Sad to say, after our six hours searching all we had was eyestrain. Our starting location around Hatchet Pond looked the most promising of the day. All the indicator plants were there, the conditions looked right, but we couldn't pick up any sign of the orchid. Other locations produced similar results. We ended up searching an area around Stoney Cross with similar negative results.

Having had enough we decided to head for home and were walking back to the car. Then you see someone in smart cream trousers kneeling down in a big area of wet mud seemingly trying to bury his head into the ground. It has to be a mad man, either that or he had found an orchid (only half mad).

The couple had in fact found about a dozen Bog Orchids and in a place that we would not have searched. Why they should grow there and not in all the ideal locations we had been searching I will never know but then that is the joy of orchid hunting.

We had an interesting discussion with them and did thank them for rescuing our day but I failed to get their names. So if they read this our thanks again for helping us out.

Lucky or what? We were all set for a really depressing ride home.

Emperors and Admirals

A trip over to the Knepp Estate on Sunday, looking for Purple Emperors, was successful in that I saw plenty of them but also disappointing, in that I did not see any on the ground. As usual they were patrolling territories at the tops of the trees, with just the one, pictured below, venturing about half way down and giving  a few record shot opportunities.

I would think that this is a freshly emerged individual that is just hardening off before he enters the skirmishes above him.

Freshly emerged male Purple Emperor

nearly an upper wing view

White Admirals were also on the wing and like the Emperors they were squabbling over territory. There are a huge number of trees around Knepp but the two I saw both appear to want the same space. Strange enough I saw a couple disputing the same spot last year. There must be something there that they want.

White Admiral

White Admiral

Underwing view

Lots more purple around the trees in the form of Purple Hairstreaks. Again a butterfly of the tree tops where they feed on honeydew secreted by aphids. They do occasionally come down to nectar on flowers but not today. An open wing shot of one of these down low is second only to a pristine Chequered Skipper on my butterfly hit list.

Purple Hairstreak - just a bit too high in the tree

and showing me what an open wing shot looks like if only I could get a bit closer

Lots of other butterflies around including a Small Tortoiseshell. Worth recording as I haven't seen many of these about this year.

Small Tortoiseshell

Plenty of Large Skippers and Marbled Whites

Large Skipper

Marbled White

And my first Small Skippers of the year. I had forgotten how small they are and initially took them to be a cloud of  flies buzzing round a muddy puddle.

Small Skipper

Small Skipper

Small Skipper

The butterfly year list is looking a bit healthier after the past weeks focus and I also added my first Broad-bodied Chaser of the year.

White-letter Hairstreak

The blog should really be about the Black Hairstreak. I made a third trip over to Ditchling Common to see them. As before they were visible but they were staying high in the trees. Others have had good picture opportunities this year but it just hasn't worked for me. Strange when I had such good views last year.

My best shot for this year below and just to prove I can take a decent picture, one from last year.

Black Hairstreak

Black Hairstreak  Ditchling Common 2018

I saw three large Fritillaries but none were stopping and I could not be sure on identification between Dark Green and Silver-washed. There were also a couple of views of Purple Hairstreaks but again staying distant at the tops of trees.

There were also a good few Painted Ladies around and a couple of Red Admirals. The later giving a closed wing view for long enough for me to get a picture. Interesting but as always with this butterfly the depth of red that we see with the eye just doesn't get recorded when photographed.

Red Admiral

Looking for a bit more success I moved on to Hollingbury Park to look for the White-letter Hairstreaks. There are always a good display of thistles here and once down and nectaring these butterflies are easier to photograph.

White-letter Hairstreak - male

White-letter Hairstreak - female

And a few Damselflies recorded at Woods Mills.

Azure Damselfly

Beautiful Demoiselle

Large Red Damselfly

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

With the recent focus on Orchids my bird list for the year is looking a little sad. I am around thirty to forty birds behind the norm and missing a good few of the common species. Thinking I would fill a few of the gaps I headed over to Iping Common today.

There are never a lot of birds on the commons but you do pick up a few of the scarcer species. Woodlark and Redstart were welcome finds but there was no sign of any Tree Pipits which I had also hoped to see. Both birds seen were distant views with only poor record shots obtained.

There were good numbers of butterflies around but most were hyperactive in the hot sun. Silver-studded Blues, in particular, are always good to see but I am still waiting to capture photographs of the ants tending the newly emerged butterfly.

Males are easy to see but don't stay still for very long. Females are less conspicuous and tend to hide away in the vegetation. You can see why. If you do find a female you only have a few seconds to get a picture before the amorous male turns up.

Female Silver-studded Blue

Male in attendance

He didn't have much luck. She took one look and headed straight for deep cover.

There has been an influx of Painted Ladies from the continent with appearances almost everywhere. Unfortunately most look as though they have flown all the way from North Africa and are not in best condition. There should be time for a second brood which will emerge later in the year and we may get good numbers of pristine butterflies which will be well worth seeking out.

Painted Lady

There is always a chance of finding a Golden-ringed Dragonfly on the commons and if you find one that's in the middle of having its lunch it may even stay still long enough for a picture.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly and unfortunate hoverfly

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

And a freshly emerged Four-spotted Chaser. Just a pity about the busy background.

Four-spotted Chaser

Perhaps not the bird pictures that I had hoped for but still an interesting day