26th May - Chappett's Copse and Old Winchester Hill, Hampshire

An early start to avoid the heat, temperatures over the last few days have been in the thirties with yesterday recording the warmest ever May day at 34.8 degrees, crazy!  I have been wanting to visit Chappett's Copse just outside West Meon recently.  The drive is strenuous, not due to the distance but the narrow road.  Time wise it is just around the corner from me.  I arrived a little before 8:00 am and it was already hot.  There was no breeze in the copse as I walked the main path, the sunshine dappled through the leaves.  A Firecrest was flitting about in the lower branches singing as it went.

But I wasn't here for birds I was here for the special Orchids found in this wood that is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife trust.  Having been before I had a good idea where to look and quickly found a group of Narrow-leaved or Sword Leaved Helleborines.

 

The Narrow-leaved Helleborine is quite a regal plant with elegant long leaves that alternate up the stem of the plant towards a then leafless spire of pretty pure white bell shaped flowers.

Each flower has pointed sepals and opens just enough to show a golden patch on a heart shaped lip.

Looking around I also managed to find a very worn Bird's Nest Orchid.  By its condition it looks like we have missed the peak flowering time.  Hopefully we will be able to find some more.

I made my way back to the car to meet Ian and then we returned.  After showing him the first patch I had found we walked on and came across a lot more.  The other rare Helleborine found here is the White Helleborine.  Unlike the Narrow-leaved Helleborine this one has broad spear like leaves that become shorter and narrower as the reach the top of the stem.The blooms are egg shaped and do not often fully open, so at first glance it doesn't look much like an orchid at all.

It is the barely visible yellow orange lip that gives rise to the plant's folk name, "poached egg plant.

The White Helleborine is mostly self pollinating.  It takes about eight years to develop from seed and then flowering can take an additional two to three years.  It is found in beech woodland on chalky soils and is a shade loving species.  It is one of the more commoner Helleborines and we could find several growing well away from the main clumps.

It is the Narrow-leaved Helleborine that the reserve is known for and there were plenty of these.

The Alternative name, Sword-leaved Helleborine comes from the narrow stiff leaves.  The flowers do not have any scent and rely bees and wasps for pollination.

Found in Beech woodlands often with an open canopy but they are found in shady conditions too.  Here at Chappets the sunshine would filter through and pick out the flowers on the woodland floor.

We did find some more Bird's Nest Orchids, but whilst not as far gone as the first one they were still way past their best.

The honey brown flower spikes are unique among wild British Orchids.  Most of the flowers are clustered together towards the tip of the stem.  Typical of an orchid flower (although you can't see it here) the petals and sepals form a loose hood and the lip vaguely resembles a human torso.  The flowers are dominated by the large darker lip which has outward hanging lobes and a nectar producing depression.  The nectar has a sweet smell similar to honey and the orchid is pollinated by insects attracted to the smell.

The orchid is sustained by a living fungus, forming a relationship with fungi that are simultaneously in partnership with surrounding trees.  The name "Bird's Nest comes from the ball of roots that are said to resemble a bird's nest.

Having managed to find all we had hoped for, a little disappointed with the Bird's Nest, but then every years seems to be different these years, we moved on to Old Winchester Hill.

Walking from the car park you are always greeted by the amazing view out across the fields towards the hill fort.

There were very few flowers in the grass areas, but there were Common Blues, in fact on the walk we counted twenty four Common Blues.

There were Dog Rose flowers and the bramble was just beginning to emerge which was an attraction for the Brimstone that are just about to finish their firs brood.

This area has always been good for Small Tortoiseshell over the last few years and one appeared on the bramble.  Numbers of this butterfly have seemed to reduce significantly so it was good to find this one.

Although it refused to sit with wings open.

On Saturday at Martin Down Painted Ladies were attracted to the Dog Rose flowers and it was the same here with at least three on the flowers.

A Small Heath sat on one of the bramble leaves.

Blackcaps and Whitethroats were singing from the bushes.  This female was carrying food so there must be a nest close by.

We walked down to the lower slope where it was a little cooler and then up on to the hill fort where the breeze took the edge off the temperature and it was much more comfortable.  As always the view was stunning.

A Red Kite drifted below us.

Then one came overhead.

It was very strange to hear and see Mediterranean Gulls fly past, when we drove up they were hawking insects over the fields.  Here they were flycatching in front of us.  I don't know what is more impressive a Hobby catching insects with its feet of these Mediterranean Gull catching them with their beaks.

These are probably non breeding birds, although they are not showing the black tips of the third calendar birds.  Numbers gather around here in June and this I probably the start of that.  I hear them over my house every summer.

A lone male Kestrel flew past contrasted against the dark green of the field below.

We walked around the hill fort and then back along the slope.  A surprise butterfly wise was a couple of Small Copper.

Coming down the slope to the Woodpecker Wood we found some more orchids, not very big and these were the only ones.  These are Spotted Orchids and are so difficult to pin down.  The consensus was that this was probably a Common Spotted.

And this one too, but it could also be a Heath

We were a lot more confident with this one, a Chalk Fragrant Orchid.

There were Dingy Skipper on the slope to add to the day's total and in the wood Speckled Wood.  Coming out of the wood we expected more butterflies, but there were hardly any, maybe just too hot now?  The path now was up hill all the way, it was hot and the legs were struggling.

Back at the car park I decided it was too hot for me now so I headed home. A successful day with the orchids, but a little disappointing with the butterflies, a total of eleven species being seen

15th June - Portsdown Hill, Beacon Hill & Chappetts Copse, Hampshire

Saturday morning was a wake up call, overcast, strong winds and sporadic rain.  A long way from the blue skies and warm temperatures we had left behind in Sicily the day before.  I had arranged to meet Ian at the top of Portsdown Hill, today was to be about Orchids and hopefully butterflies but the latter was not going to be easy.  As I sat in the car, parked in the lay by the rain became heavy, the wind rocking the car and the rain thumping on the windscreen and roof.  When Ian arrived he joined me in the car and we chatted until the rain eased and there was signs of blue sky away to the west.

Leaving the car we were joined by a Kestrel using the up draught from the hill to hover over the grass area.

We walked down the hill and through the grassy paths, as I said we were here to look for orchids, and some special ones at that.  Along side the paths there were Pyramidal Orchids in bloom.  The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. 

Eventually the path took us to a grassy area that was below the chalk cliffs of Portsdown Hill and in amongst the tall grass was the orchid we were looking, the Lizard Orchid.  I have seen these before, but in the Dordogne area of France, this was the first time I had seen one in this country.

The Lizard Orchid grows on calcareous soils and likes sunny positions on the edges of open woodland and on roadside verges. This orchid also grows in dry meadows, rocky areas, and open woods.

The long, tail-like lip is usually spiralled and dotted with pink or purple in the centre. Lizard Orchid’s flowers have a rather foul smell, said to be similar to the smell of goats.

Lizard Orchid is usually rare in the UK but in the right location it can be found in great numbers. It grows up to a metre in height but can nonetheless be difficult to spot when growing in long grass on roadside verges.

The scientific name (Himantoglossum) derives from the Greek for ‘strap-tongue’ Hircinum is Latin for ‘goat-like’, and refers to the strong, foul smell of the flowers.  In most European languages it is known as ‘(Billy or male) goat orchid’.

The Lizard Orchid is pollinated by insects particularly bees.

In the same area as the Lizard Orchids were several Bee Orchids.  These were looking particularly superb with most of the flower heads in perfect condition.

The Bee Orchid is a sneaky mimic - the flower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. Males fly in to try to mate with it and end up pollinating the flower. Sadly, the right bee species doesn’t live here in the UK, so the UK Bee Orchids have to rely on self-pollination.

A small orchid, the bee orchid has a rosette of leaves at ground level and two leaves that grow up the stem as a sheath. The stem displays a number of relatively large flowers with pink sepals that look like wings, and furry, brown lips that have yellow markings on, just like a bee.

A drop of water left over from the rain was clinging to the velvet like abdomen of the "bee".

As well as these two special orchids there were others, the Common Spotted Orchid.

Despite the overcast conditions a Marbled White flew past us, but didn't stop, a first for the year.  But then Ian found one settled on the top of a Pyramidal Orchid.

A newly emerged male, sitting out the cool conditions.

We climbed up the side of the cliff, it looks quite dramatic close up.

At the top of the cliff we walked through loads of daisies and Common Spotted Orchids.

Despite the overcast conditions, the sea around Portchester Fort looked distinctly Mediterranean.

We disturbed a group of Ravens that were feeding on a dead rabbit, they took off and flew around us using the wind to not go away too far.

From Portsdown Hill our next destination was to be Beacon Hill.  We had been here for the first time earlier in the spring, and I an had visited in the week and found Man Orchids.  He was happy to return so I could see them.

We walked around the hill, taking in the wonderful view on what was now a lovely morning.

After reaching the area we eventually found a single Man Orchid, a spike about 20 centimetres tall alongside a small Blackthorn bush.

The Man Orchid takes its name from the appearance of its hooded flowers, with dangling appendages that look like a head and limbs. It grows from tubers, does not always flower annually and is now a rare sight in the UK.

This is an orchid of short alkaline grasslands and is most often found growing full sun or mid-shade, but the Man Orchid is also found occasionally along the edges of open woodland and in scrubby areas.

As I have written the name Man Orchid refers to the human shaped lip of the flower which, together with the sepals and petals which form a hood above the lip, gives the flower a strong resemblance to a small human figure. The plants grow to around 40cm tall and there are 5-10 basal leaves which are unmarked but clearly veined. The colour of the flowers varies from greenish-bronze to pale yellow and they are usually marked with bronze.

I am a sucker for a tree on the horizon.

The side of the slope was covered in Chalk Fragrant Orchids.

This we considered is a Heath Fragrant Orchid.

A superb Common Spotted Orchid.

Another Chalk Fragrant.

A close up of the petals.

Walking back to the cars, the slopes were covered with daisies and buttercups.  Back in April it was Cowslips.

Our final stop of the day was Chappetts Copse just outside West Meon.  This is a reserve managed by the Hants and IOW Wildlife Trust and consists of ancient woodland.

We were here for more orchids, this time Helleborines.  Unfortunately the two orchids we hoped for, Frog and Bird's Nest were now past there best, but this didn't stop us looking for them.

In the dark conditions under the Beech canopy Ian pointed out a White Helleborine.

White Helleborine is a slow-growing orchid that grows under Beech trees. It has angular ribbed stems and ribbed leaves. Its small flowers are creamy-white and elongated with a curved tip, borne in spikes. On opening, the flowers show a yellow lip, which gives rise to the alternative common name of 'poached egg plant'. However, the flowers do not always fully open, as the plant relies mainly on self-pollination.

There are two other Helleborines here, the most numerous being the Sword-leaved Helleborine.  There are getting to the end of their flowering period, but there were still a few showing flowers.

The Sword-leaved Helleborine grows to about 40 cm in height and is distinguished from the Broad-leaved Helleborine by the shape of its leaves, which are long and narrow. Both the Latin namelongifolia which means long-leaved and the English common name 'sword-leaved' refer to the distinctive shape of the leaves.

Although generally associated (in the UK, that is) with the chalk-rich habitats of southern England, the Sword-leaved Helleborine also occurs in western Scotland, in a few sites in Ireland and on the western fringes of Mid and North Wales. This species is in steep decline both in the UK and throughout mainland Europe, where it is widespread but nowhere very common.

Not far from the Sword-leaved Helleborines were the similar Broad-leaved Helleborine.  These are not quite flowering just yet so we had to make do with the flower heads and the broad leaves for identification.

The Broad-leaved Helleborine is a tall, dark orchid with leaves that spiral around the stem and purple-tinged, drooping flowers. It flowers from July to September and can mostly be seen in woodlands and scrub.

It has broad, oval leaves, with strong veins, at its base, and smaller leaves that wind their way up its stem. A single flower spike has loose clusters of 'drooping' flowers that are greenish with a purple tinge.

Some species of wasp and bee that are attracted to Broad-leaved Helleborines have been noted as becoming 'intoxicated' after visiting these orchids for nectar - it appears that the flowers can contain a kind of alcohol as a result of a fungus! The bees like it so much, they come back for more, ensuring the flower is pollinated.

We will be back to Chappetts Copse earlier next year to hopefully find the Fly and Bird's Nest Orchids.  Today we were happy with the two Helleborines.

Despite the weather it had been a very successful day with three new orchids for me and the lovely Lizard and Bee Orchids.