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| Lizard Orchid |
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| Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) |
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| Lizard Orchids |
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| Bee Orchid |
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| Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) |
Showing posts with label Hampshire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hampshire. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 June 2024
Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 11 (Reprise)
I took A back to the site to see the Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum hircinum), this time I relaxed and started to use the camera rather than rely on the iPhone.
Wednesday, 7 June 2023
Spotted in the garden!
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Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza Fuchsii) |
How I managed to miss the Common Spotted Orchid rosette in the back garden for so long beggars me. I have been religiously keeping an eye on the Bee-orchid (Ophrys apifera) rosettes five of which were showing over the late winter, but all of whom failed to throw up a flower spike this year.
However, I did manage to overlook it, that is until the 18th of May, by which time it was quite a substantial plant – growing within a foot of the patio, and only three feet away from the garden bench. We went west for a fortnight, and when we got back it was coming into flower.
My understanding is that this specie takes three to four years from seed set to a flowering plant, and only if the right mycorrhizal fungi are present in the soil. If this plant sets seed, I will be sprinkling a little of its “fairy dust” around the rest of the back garden, in the hope of developing a new colony. Some seed may also find its way to the front lawn.
Saturday, 4 February 2023
Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini L.)
This is a bird, that I have missed out on several times over the years, primarily because I have never managed to get up early enough to see one. Some years back, on a whale watching trip with Orca Trust (Portsmouth - Santander return), I was advised that you needed to be up for dawn, as the Sabine's Gulls would be around the ship early doors but then disappear. Both mornings I was late for dawn and missed the Sabs.
Sea-watching from Lizard Point, I have arrived on a couple of occasions - late to the party - only to be informed that "you've just missed a Sab's go through!".
This individual bird has been around for a few weeks now, but I haven't had the opportunity to visit - so this morning I was more than keen to get down to Southwater Lane and head for the breach in the sea-wall.
As I neared the breach - I could see a couple of birders with scope's pointing inland over the managed retreat, they looked very animated, I was relieved as this obviously meant that I had finally got up early enough!
The gull was initially quite distant on the mudflats, but over the course of half an hour, moved close enough for me to get good views and that all important "record shot".
Off-shore Long-tailed Duck, Black-necked Grebe, and Goldeneye; along with a fly-past Marsh Harrier gave added value.
Sea-watching from Lizard Point, I have arrived on a couple of occasions - late to the party - only to be informed that "you've just missed a Sab's go through!".
This individual bird has been around for a few weeks now, but I haven't had the opportunity to visit - so this morning I was more than keen to get down to Southwater Lane and head for the breach in the sea-wall.
As I neared the breach - I could see a couple of birders with scope's pointing inland over the managed retreat, they looked very animated, I was relieved as this obviously meant that I had finally got up early enough!
The gull was initially quite distant on the mudflats, but over the course of half an hour, moved close enough for me to get good views and that all important "record shot".
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| Sabine's Gull, Hampshire, February 2023 |
Off-shore Long-tailed Duck, Black-necked Grebe, and Goldeneye; along with a fly-past Marsh Harrier gave added value.
Thursday, 17 March 2022
Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 8 .. upon a Chalk Hill ..
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| St Hubert's of Idsworth |
The day started with a pilgrimage to, and a guided meditation, within the grounds of the exquisite St Hubert's of Idsworth.
The church is surrounded by a wide belt of wildflower meadow, whose beckoning of flora and butterflies was somewhat distracting - given the main purpose of my visit.
Spiritually refreshed, I headed to Noar Hill in the search for Musk orchid (Herminium monorchis) and Frog orchid (Dactylorhiza viridis), I could not find the latter, but once my eye was in on the musk orchid I was pleasantly surprised by its abundance - finding its short, pale spikes throughout much of the short grassland of the quarried centre of the hill.
Whilst the location of the frog orchids remained elusive I thoroughly enjoyed the supporting cast of orchids I encountered: common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), although very much over; Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), and chalk fragrant-orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) again edging heavily toward seed.
This hill always keeps giving when you start looking through the turf. However, today was not the day for wider scrutiny, not the time to get bogged down with the effort to observe and record everything that I could find and name.
My mood of late had been in desperate need of lightening. This combination of pilgrimage, meditation and a new orchid species to observe - was the uplift that I so very much needed and I left the hill in high spirit.
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| Musk orchid |
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| Common spotted-orchid |
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| Pyramidal orchid |
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| Chalk fragrant-orchid |
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| Musk orchids |
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| Noar Hill |
Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Sunday, 13 June 2021
Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 5 .. Royal Jelly ..
Only a single spike of bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) has come into flower in the garden, despite a promising count of 14 rosettes earlier in the spring.
Addendum
A second bee orchid was found in flwr on the 6th July 2021
Addendum
A second bee orchid was found in flwr on the 6th July 2021
Sunday, 30 May 2021
Sunday, 18 April 2021
Sunday, 28 February 2021
the garden grows some talons (Reprise)
A good friend sent me these cracking photos of a female sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) which was present today in their back garden.
Tuesday, 17 November 2020
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