The Wild Orchids of Dorset
October 2016
Last year, 2015 we had lots of great orchids, on Portland bill; Bee "botteronii"
And Radipole west;
Bee "belgarum"
This year has bean just an ordinary orchid year, so I assume the weather has an affect!
Dec 2014
Another odd year, I went down to the Dancing Ledge in mid April & again instead of thousands of Early Spider, just a few! I assumed it was the cattle again but later in the spring I realized the loss of orchids this year was based on the fact that the winter never had freezing! So presumably the other plants were able to stop a lot of orchids from growing.
Last year, 2015 we had lots of great orchids, on Portland bill; Bee "botteronii"
And Radipole west;
Bee "belgarum"
This year has bean just an ordinary orchid year, so I assume the weather has an affect!
Dec 2014
Another odd year, I went down to the Dancing Ledge in mid April & again instead of thousands of Early Spider, just a few! I assumed it was the cattle again but later in the spring I realized the loss of orchids this year was based on the fact that the winter never had freezing! So presumably the other plants were able to stop a lot of orchids from growing.
Sept.2013
This has become a rather odd year, the very cold spring has made some orchids delay their appearance for a couple of weeks. The Nat.Trust has allowed the farmers to let cattle into the Early Spider sites & they have destroyed 99% of the orchids! This year only 1 atrofuscus at Radipole RSPB, & no sign of the Bee var “belgarum” on the Granby Way.
This has become a rather odd year, the very cold spring has made some orchids delay their appearance for a couple of weeks. The Nat.Trust has allowed the farmers to let cattle into the Early Spider sites & they have destroyed 99% of the orchids! This year only 1 atrofuscus at Radipole RSPB, & no sign of the Bee var “belgarum” on the Granby Way.
Oct.2012,
I have now reset my UK wild orchids photo site, top right hand link will now connect to the web site. Sept.2012,
The end of a very odd summer, weather wise. Before being washed away by the storm on the 8th of July more odd Bee ssp's were found at Radipole.
I have now reset my UK wild orchids photo site, top right hand link will now connect to the web site. Sept.2012,
The end of a very odd summer, weather wise. Before being washed away by the storm on the 8th of July more odd Bee ssp's were found at Radipole.
These 2 are both “atrofuscus”
Although assumed "atrofuscus" this could be "fulvofusca" & the next is the first Bee var "belgarum" to be recorded in Dorset
Possibly
because of the weather the Green-flowered Helleborine have not appeared
this year. Also there were no Violet Helleborine at the north Dorset
site, but the last one of the year the Autumn Ladies Tresses have
appeared at a couple of new sites.
Dorset Orchids Update. Oct. 11.
The end of another summer of odd weather & just as last year, there were large no’s of Early Spider along the Purbeck coast. However the very hot May has then affected the other Bees, so again very few this year. After my Bee var “Fulvofusca” at Radipole last year another first for the UK was found at Ubley Warren in the Mendips of Somerset. This was proven to be the var. “Botteronii”. By the time the summer weather started to deteriorate, most orchids had gone over, but it did have some affect on the Epipactis helleborines.
The end of another summer of odd weather & just as last year, there were large no’s of Early Spider along the Purbeck coast. However the very hot May has then affected the other Bees, so again very few this year. After my Bee var “Fulvofusca” at Radipole last year another first for the UK was found at Ubley Warren in the Mendips of Somerset. This was proven to be the var. “Botteronii”. By the time the summer weather started to deteriorate, most orchids had gone over, but it did have some affect on the Epipactis helleborines.
Sept 2010
WOW, what an incredible summer for rare orchids. On the 11th of June during a visit to Kenfig I found an odd Northern Marsh that had possibly not been recorded before, this would be “hyperchromic northern marsh” a var. known as Atrata. After publishing this on the net we were invited back to Kenfig to study various other “odd” orchids. On Saturday the 26th I got a message saying there was an odd dark Bee orchid just down the road at Radipole RSPB. I went down and took some photos and when I studied them I realized it looked like “atrofuscus”; according to David Lang in “Britain’s Orchids” this had only been been recorded once before in Sussex in 2001. After publishing this photo on the flower section of Birdforums, it was approved & many orchid lovers from around the country came down to see it. Then very oddly we discovered another strange bee across the path, this appeared to be var. “fulvofusca” although this had been seen around Europe it had never been been recorded in the UK under that name!
WOW, what an incredible summer for rare orchids. On the 11th of June during a visit to Kenfig I found an odd Northern Marsh that had possibly not been recorded before, this would be “hyperchromic northern marsh” a var. known as Atrata. After publishing this on the net we were invited back to Kenfig to study various other “odd” orchids. On Saturday the 26th I got a message saying there was an odd dark Bee orchid just down the road at Radipole RSPB. I went down and took some photos and when I studied them I realized it looked like “atrofuscus”; according to David Lang in “Britain’s Orchids” this had only been been recorded once before in Sussex in 2001. After publishing this photo on the flower section of Birdforums, it was approved & many orchid lovers from around the country came down to see it. Then very oddly we discovered another strange bee across the path, this appeared to be var. “fulvofusca” although this had been seen around Europe it had never been been recorded in the UK under that name!
I also discovered Heath Fragrant and Narrow-lipped Helleborine for the first time in Dorset !
