Orchids in Suffolk: Tongue Orchid & Bonus "Ochroleuca" Early Marsh

This week, my twitching buddies PL & EU were planning a trip to Suffolk, organised by the Hardy Orchid Society, to see a rare Tongue Orchid. There was much to-ing and fro-ing in sorting out the details and at the last minute EU cried off (called by the siren song of a couple of Mega's up north) and then the trip organiser himself fell ill. So in the end PL and myself sallied forth in the Gnome mobile, setting off late morning to arrive at the (undisclosed) site in deepest, darkest Suffolk. The trip took getting on for three hours and with the car's air conditioning having conked out it was a rather hot and tedious drive there. Still we arrived with keen anticipation and set off for the orchid location itself. 

There had been a couple of other people on the HOS trip who, in the absence of the organiser, had also made their way there under their own steam and one of them took us under his wing and lead us straight to the exact location. And there it was, sitting unobtrusively in a wildflower meadow on the private site. There were three stems, one very much on the way out, one in fine fettle and one a bit on the runty side. We set about taking photos as best we could though unfortunately the sun was positioned on the wrong side of the plants. We were under strict instructions by the site owner to avoid trampling at all costs and to stick to the designated path.

The Greek Ploughshare Tongue Orchid, above and below

 

 

Here showing the relatively small size at about 15cm tall in amongst the Buttercups

The lovely wildflower meadow in which the Tongue Orchid was located

So, what of the provenance of these plants? Firstly, there had in fact been some debate about their identity before it was pinned down (see here) by "Mr Orchid" SC and Kew Gardens as being Serapias bergonii. This species is commonly known as Greek (or Eastern) Ploughshare Tongue Orchid and is a native of the southern Mediterranean and Balkan countries as far west as Italy. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of various other Tongue Orchids before being declared a species in its own right. The Suffolk specimens were originally thought to have been planted there but the owner of the private land where they are located refutes this so they must have arrived under its own steam somehow. Anyway, it was good enough for me and I enjoyed this latest addition to my UK Orchid list.

Having got our fill of these Mediterranean exotics, we went on to our second location. This was very much a bonus visit that the trip organiser had set up, but in his absence we were happy to follow his itinerary. The target was the rare Ochroleuca variety of Early Marsh Orchid, a plae creamy variation on this already quite colour-varied species. Along with our new-found orchid companion, we made our way to the target site where we were greeted by the sight of a lovely boggy fen to tramp about in. Our pin-drop information turned out to be useless so we were left to find them ourselves. In the end it was easy enough, as their pale creamy colour stood out from the lush green vegetation quite strongly. There was also the clue (as always) of the trampling surrounding them.

Above and below Ochroleuca Early Marsh Orchid

 

One aspect of orchiding that I really like is the rummaging around in a bog (or wherever) by myself seeing what I can find so I soon wandered off. I managed to turn up a few more ochroleuca myself as well as some schoenophila varients of Marsh Orchid. The latter are what were formerly know as Pugsley's or Narrow-leaved before they decided to reclassify all the southern ones to this subspecies of Southern Marsh. Having got my eye in on Anglesey on my recent trip there, I was pleased to have picked out it's look-alike for myself.

Above and below - there were plenty of Southern Marsh Orchid

 

 

 

Above and below schoenophila Southern Marsh, 
or "pseudo" Pugsley's as I call them

Rummaging around in a bog - what could be better?

After a while PL and I decided that we'd had our fill and wandered contentedly back to the car. Then it was back on the road for the long slog back home. We both agreed that it had been a most excellent trip out. With a new orchid tick and a new subspecies tick as well, along with some top class bog rummaging, it had been a grand day out.

 

The Summer Uni Run - Pugsley's Marsh Orchid

My son has come to the end of his first year at York University. How time flies! It seems like only yesterday that I was taking him up for the start of it all and yet here I was getting him back again. As always, the trip up north offered an opportunity for me to see something  en route. I had been hoping for a Big One ("late and alone") to turn up but in the end the only action was in Shetland so I had to make do with things other than birds. I got to thinking that it would be a good opportunity for me to work on my orchid list which is now getting close to being complete. The obvious choice was Lady's Slipper Orchid which should be in full bloom around about now and easily visitable at Kilnsey Park, near Skipton in Yorkshire. However, a phone call to the lodge there during the preceding few days determined that sadly, due to the hot dry spring we'd had, everything had been a couple of weeks early and they'd all gone by now. Having now got the idea of orchid'ing into my head, I was determined to find something else to visit. The only other candidate that I still needed that wasn't up in Scotland was Pugsley's Marsh Orchid which should now be in full bloom. However, the best location for this was on Anglesey which was not what you might typically call en route to York. Still, it was at least going north and would have to do. In the end, I decided to go up in the afternoon the previous day and stay overnight nearby. I could then spend the morning knee deep in the local bogs before heading east towards Yorkshire in the afternoon. I could even catch a bit of early morning raptor watching at Wykeham Forest the next day before heading into York to pick up my son and then head back home to Oxford. The plan had been hatched - but how would it all turn out?

So it was that on Sunday afternoon I loaded up the Gnome-mobile and headed north on the M6 and then west along the A55 towards Anglesey. I arrived at my AirBnB in Pentraeth on Anglesey at around 8pm. This was ideally located no more than 5 minutes from Cors Bodeilio, my target location for the trip. The AirBnB turned out to be very basic but was in a quiet location and the bed was very comfortable. After a quick walk to the local shop to buy some provisions and to stretch my legs I was soon settled in for the night.

After a good nights sleep I was breakfasted and out of the door at 8am. As I said, it was literally only 5 minutes up the road to the parking area for the Cors Bodeilio reserve. This is one of three alkaline fens on Anglesey, along with Cors Goch and Cors Erddreiniog (Cors being the Welsh for "bog") - see here for an overview. Most bogs are acidic in nature but the surrounding porous limestone rocks mean that the water that filters through is alkaline in nature, making for a unique and rare ecology. This habitat is home to a variety of rare plants and insects, including my sought after target today, Pugsley's Marsh Orchid. Also known as Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid, this was originally thought to be a much more widespread species. Indeed I remember ticking it for myself at Cothill Nature Reserve in Oxforshire a number of years back. However, the orchid powers that be decided after detailed DNA analysis that all those south of a line from the Severn to the Wash were actually subspecies of Southern Marsh Orchid. I don't know of other reliable sites for Pugsley's but I had been told by "Mr. Orchid" SC that Anglesey was the best bet and he'd given me detailed instructions of where to go. All that remained was for me to hope that these hadn't gone the way of the Lady's Slipper Orchids and were in fact still in flower. Having arrived, now was the moment of truth.

The Cors Bodeilio Nature Reserve

 

The gate from the parking area lead immediately onto a large wooden boardwalk that circumnavigated the north side of the first part of the reserve. I was greeted by a large boggy vista with some orchids immediately on view. That was a good sign! Closer inspection revealed these to be mostly Northern Marsh Orchids with some Early Marsh, Common Spotted and Heath Spotted Orchids in amongst them. I realised that it had been a few years since I'd done much orchid'ing (apart from chasing down Scottish rarities) and I was rather rusty on the commoner species. I hastened back to the car to get my field guide to remind me what I was supposed to be looking for and gradually it all started to come back to me. There was also a nice cluster of Marsh Helleborine right by the path. It was a beautiful morning and the air was full of bird song. A reeling Grasshopper Warbler was a pleasant surprise and Willow Warblers and Meadow Pipits were singing everywhere.

The bog as viewed from the boardwalk

Marsh Helleborine

Early Marsh Orchid

At the end of the boardwalk I went off-piste and carefully followed my instructions to the pin drop, eventually ended up at a suitably boggy area where suddenly there were plenty of Pugsley's Marsh Orchids. To be on the safe side I messaged a snap of one to SC who confirmed that I had indeed secured my prize. I spent some time tramping around looking at all the lovely orchids. They were mostly Pugsley's in this area with a few other species as well. After quite some searching I eventually found a couple of Fly Orchids - apparently very rare in Wales.

Pugsley's Marsh Orchid above and below

  

A Fly Orchid - very rare for Wales apparently

After a while I felt that I was done and ambled back towards the car, taking in all the sights and sounds. Now that the sun was up some dragonflies were on the wing though I only saw Four-spotted Chasers. In a month or so it would have been a great site for Common Hawker but it was far too early. I spent some time in the car having some tea from my flask and wondering what to do next. I'd mentioned raptor watching for the next day but a look at the weather forecast for Yorkshire showed heavy rain and strong winds forecast for tomorrow. Hmmm, if I was to have any chance with raptors it would have to be today. So in the end I decided to head directly there now rather than spending any more time on Anglesey. With a long four hour journey ahead of me, I fired up the Gnome mobile and headed east, stopping for lunch and a tea break to ease the journey. 

Towards the end of the journey a bit of a cock-up with the Sat Nav meant I had to retrace my steps and added half an hour to my journey time so it wasn't until around 5pm that I arrived at the Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint car park and walked the few hundred yards to the viewing location. This turned out to be a nice open area with a great view out over the valley towards a large wooded area opposite. It was well equipped with a couple of large benches and there were about a dozen or so people there. The vibe was rather anti-social and there didn't seem to be much talking between the various parties. I cautiously asked about recent sightings to be told that nothing had been seen for quite some time. 

The vista from the Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint

I was late to the party but it was a pleasant evening and I was happy just to stare out into the countryside and to unwind after my long drive. People started leaving fairly soon after I arrived so in the end it was just myself and a couple of others - a local from York and a visting birder from Surrey. We got talking and in the end had quite a good time. After a very quiet period things started to pick up and we had a couple of Goshawk sightings and some Common Buzzards as well but no Honeys. Crossbills and Siskins would fly over regularly and often sit in the surrounding trees. A lovely Willow Warbler was flying from tree to tree and marking out its territory with song right in front of us. It was all very pleasant. Eventually I decided that it was time to leave and headed back to the car. My host for the evening had given me some info on where to eat and I settled on a local pub on the way to my AirBnB. The AirBnB itself was a lovely characterful old mill house in the middle of nowhere about half an hour outside York. After chatting with my hostess for a while I was soon settled into bed for the evening.

The next morning the predicted rain and wind had indeed materialised so I didn't hurry. Instead I had a leisurely breakfast while chatting with my hostess. In terms of what to do, Kirkham Priory ruins caught my eye on the map as somewhere to stop off at on the way to York and so at around 9am I set off. This turned out to be a lovely spot by the scenic River Derwent with a small YWT woodland reserve nearby. A quick wander along the river through the reserve found a lovely party of young Marsh Tits blundering about in the woods and all sorts of other birds singing away now that the rain had stopped. It was all very beautiful. 

The picturesque River Derwent

Kirkham Priory ruins across the River Derwent

 

A recently fledged Marsh Tit

Then it was back into the car and on into York. The rendezvous with my son went smoothly and we were soon on our way down south. It was a long old slog after two full days of driving already and the car's air conditioning seemed to have stopped working so it was very hot. However, with a couple of pit stops for lunch and then some tea we made it back by mid afternoon. It had been a very successful Uni run with another new orchid species under my belt.