Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 10 .. Fairmile Bottom, West Sussex

It's been a while since I enjoyed a "Big Day Out" looking for orchids. However, with R staying over, and him not being sure he had ever seen a Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifora)? It was a good excuse for the three of us to head into West Sussex to a site I know fairly well, and see what orchid species we could find.

Dactylorhiza x mixtum

Since I last visited Fairmile Bottom, there has been some ongoing work to reduce the scrub and trees on the main grassland - with the insidious Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) and birch (Betula sp.) encroachment being targeted in particular.

This recent clearance seriously affected my "muscle memory" of the site and where certain orchid species might be found, but after 20mins or so of wandering in vain, I finally tripped over a small colony of Frog Orchid (Dactylorhiza viridis), along with a cracking example of what I thought was a strong candidate for Dactylorhiza x mixtum the hybrid of Frog Orchid and Common Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii).

Having forgotten to bring my well thumbed copy of Britain's Orchids along with me, I had to wait until we got home to review the find. Having checked the literature, which only helped to add a level of doubt to my identification, I was chuffed to have the hybrid confirmed by one the books authors Sean Cole, via the Native Orchids of Britain and Ireland, Facebook Group. We are certainly blessed to live in an age where access to natural history experts has perhaps never been easier, which to my mind, is the main reason I remain on certain social media platforms!

Whilst R and A spent more time with the Frogs I headed uphil for Fly Orchid, of which I duly found a handful or so, along with several more Frog Orchid, and a Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata). The Fly Orchid did not seem as abundant as I remember them, perhaps suppressed by an encroachmant of Dogwood and Old Man's Beard (Clematis vitalba)?

Frog Orchids

Common Spotted-orchid

Heading to the other end of the grassland we searched for Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa), but I could not find any, although I turned up a few potential contenders for Dactylorhiza x grandis the hybrid Common Spotted-orchid x Southern Marsh Orchid? Having stopped to look at another Common Twayblade, R noticed a Southern Marsh Orchid rosette about a foot beyond it!

Dactylorhiza x grandis

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Common Spotted-orchid

Dactylorhiza x grandis (flwr and leaf detail)

Southern Marsh Orchid

Willow Emerald (Chalcolestes viridis L.), Buchan Country Park

Willow Emerald was first recorded in the Park in 2019, when a volunteer found the species, at Boundary Pond. Sightings have been sporadic since then.

However, in the last 5 days, this species has been seen twice. The first time by S at Boundary Pond. This afternoon, I was really chuffed to find an individual, on the Target Hill "triangle" path.

Of dragons and Damsels ..

Common Darter 27th Aug 2022

A Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) is photographed in the garden, resting on the side of the water-butt pond. It will stay most of the morning. Later, I set about clearing the filamentous green alga from both ponds.

I remove the alga in small clumps. Wash it gently in a small tub of clear pond water, remove as many of the aquatic invertebrates as is possible, from the sticky algal grasp. Once washed the alga is left to drain on the side of the pond(s), prior to disposal.

It is encouraging to see how much motile life, exists within these ponds - aquatic worms; ramshorn and other pond snails; daphnia; chironomids; mayfly nymphs. Along with those critters that remain a complete mystery to me?

In one of the small wash cycles, I observe a couple of nymphs who are both touting three tails, they do not not look right for mayfly nymph?

Transferring them to the shallow top of a specimen bottle, we view them under the dissecting microscope, and confirm that they are damselfly nymphs.

To date we have only recorded two species of damselfly in the garden: Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella), and Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) - so it is likely that these nymphs belong to one (or both?) of these species.

damselfly nymphs 27th Aug 2022

Add to this the recent discovery of the dragonfly nymph (Sympetrum cf striolatum), and it bodes well for the water-butt pond as a wildlife habitat, if it is able to attract and support these predators.

see Blog entry:

Next year, I will be looking out for exuviae, in the hope that the ponds remain suitable to bring these species to maturity.

Bragging to R on Whatsapp about the damsel nymphs, the retort is a photo of Willow Emerald (Chalcolestes viridis), a LIFER that R has just seen, at a site in Hertfordshire. By coincidence this is the second time this week, that Willow Emerald had been drawn to my attention.

S had photographed a specimen at Buchan Country Park on Thursday. So I have decided to take a good long look for it, when next in the Park.

Adventures in Orchidaceae pt 7 .. journeys abroad

 

Broad-leaved helleborine

We're all going on an egg hunt!

brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae)

Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua)

It's all about the bee fly (Bombylius L. spp.)

I was pleased to record my first bee fly of the year on the notable road verge at Kithurst Hill, West Sussex on the 6th April, as reported here previously at:

http://part-timenaturalist.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/and-orchid-season-starts-kithurst-hill.html

It would take another two weeks before I recorded them at home, in the garden - with two species B. major and B. discolor seen on the 19th April. Unfortunately only one of them remained obliging for the camera on the day:

B. discolor (female)

This morning, I was at Buchan Country Park in Crawley, a site owned by West Sussex County Council (WSCC), and managed by the WSCC Countryside Service:

Buchan Country Park

B. major were out in force on the site, and I noticed some behaviour that I have not previously seen to date? It occurred when small groups of bee fly were seen together. An individual would drop to the ground, bottom down and agitate their wings to slower or faster effect. I wondered from the behaviour as to whether this was a female actively wafting pheromones as part of their mating behaviour? My iPhone video of this behaviour can be seen on YouTube at:

B. major female: egg coating behaviour, Buchan Country Park

I tweeted @SoldierfliesRS with the video, and received a prompt response to my enquiry - that this behaviour was more likely the female coating her eggs with soil, to make them heavier and easier to drop into the open mouth of a solitary bee sp. nest.

More about the bee flies can be found here on the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme:

Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme

What a difference a day makes!

A visit to a chalk grassland site managed by West Sussex County Council Countryside Service, produced my first encounter of the year with an adder - in this case a small male who was basking in the sunshine - sheltered from the prevailing wind, on the cusp of woodland edge.

Trying to take a hasty record shot with an iPhone, I disturbed the snake and failed to get a meaningful photograph - although he is there! I returned the next day, with my camera and found him in almost exactly the same spot.

16th March - record shot

17th March - that's better

Unseasonal Greetings from Halnaker Windmill

I was pleasantly surprised today, to share the summit of Halnaker Hill with this unseasonal migrant species.

The butterfly was using the south facing aspects of the WWII searchlight placement and the unimproved chalk grassland to bask in the mid-day sun.

A hasty phone shot secured the record.

Vanessa cardui