The Great Southwell Orchid Hunt

 Many many years ago, I decided to do a very stupid thing and walk to Southwell, town of my Alma Mater. I was interested then in visiting the Potwell Grasslands nature reserve, but frankly when I arrived after a two and a half hour trek through fields of intimidating cows, it had all turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.

I had arrived too early in spring - indeed it snowed that day - and there was nothing much to see.

This time, with more research having been done, I waited until early June, because this is when I had read there might be a few orchids about in the uncut meadows. This time, I wasn't going to wear shoe leather; I took the £2 bus.

As ever, when I arrived I marveled at how much had gone since my school days. Like, my entire school. A collection of fairly unattractive 60s buildings next to the Minster, all that remained was a green field, beneath which lies a large Roman villa with a temple complex thrown in. Once at risk of being developed for housing, the owner of the land granted it to the town in perpetuity so that the ruins would be preserved.

The Potwell itself is a weed choked beck which I was once pushed into when I had glandular fever, and the grasslands lie on the other side from the old school site. After a preliminary trot through a field which once housed the school cricket nets I entered the reserve proper, and it didn't take me too long to find what I was in quest of; a flower spike topped with pinky-purple blooms. 

A southern marsh orchid, as it turned out, a flower I've seen before once in my life, a solitary specimen in Beacon Hill Park. But here, there wasn't just the one, I could see several growing in the long grass. 

But this was nothing compared to what awaited me in the next field. 

In this field, they were everywhere you looked. Hundreds of them, nestled down beneath the taller buttercups that have put on such a show this spring. I never though I'd find such an orchard menu anywhere near here; yet here it was.

I think when it comes to nature writing, it is very easy to get horribly pretentious, and over-write like mad, and as an autistic person to be moved emotionally by a field or a building isn't really going to happen very much.

But even I knew this was a special sight, one I hope will be repeated in this corner of the world for many years. I even needed a quick beer afterwards.

That's how good it was!

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.06.23

Return to the Orchids

Today I ran back to Beacon Hill Reserve in order to try and take better photos of the orchids for identification purposes.

It was a hot, tight chested sort of run of 7.6km there and back, with my nose absolutely streaming all the way - I think hot weather hayfever is something I'm going to have to put up with now.

It is pretty clear that the orchids are indeed of the southern marsh variety - they have unspotted leaves. Sadly they are now past their best.

I found a lovely fresh ringlet butterfly for you today. It's markings are the clearest I have ever seen.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 15.06.20

Have I Found Orchids?

Today has felt like a much more positive day, with some pleasant conversations out on the streets and the cricket ground. It could even have been a normal day. Although, as we know, these are not normal times in all sorts of ways.

I've been up to Beacon Hill reserve today, taking the back way up clay line and up the hill which looked almost alpine, it had so many flowers on it. The bramble bushes were busy with bees, although my photos are slightly disappointing. The autofocus on my Moto G7 plus can be a bit twitchy, it only really works if there is a decent sized backdrop.

It was in the reserve itself that I had my big treat of the day, potentially. Of the path in the nursery part of Beacon Hill Park - the entrance of which now boasts an Extinction Rebellion cardboard placard - two purple flowers were growing, of a type I've never seen in the park before.

I thought straightaway that they were orchids, as the flowers were blooming on a spike, but I've been fooled by woundwort before. They maybe common spotted orchids, a species I've never seen before, but am awaiting confirmation.

I had a shorter walk this evening. It was beautiful.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 13.06.20

Orchids at Work

Once again, asking to leave the verges unmowed at our massive campus has borne fruit.

Or rather, borne orchids. Once again, we  have two species of orchid growing at work; bee orchids and pyramidal orchids. More bee orchids than last year in fact.

Now I just have to stop the facilities department mowing them down. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 20.06.18

Creepy Workplace Friends

Over the last few days I've managed to gather a few decent photos, even macro photos, of insects and our first bee orchids of the year.

The highlight though, is the beautiful cucumber spider, an absolute first for me as I try to explore the great environmental potential of our workplace, and get my workmates to appreciate it and maybe  not litter it with empty Monster cans...

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.06.18

Orchid Spotting at the Cricket

Today we were out at "West Bridgfordians" - another very posh sounding name for a club, and indeed one we could have if we wanted to go all pretentious and call ourselves "Newarkians". Or perhaps "Newarkian Amateurs".

They were West Bridgford. Plain old West Bridgford.

I was with the second team today, which saved me from playing from a third team that got taken for 344 off 45 overs. But it meant I was with far better cricketers than I, and frankly I was nervous about the whole thing.

Luckily, the club chairman dangled a very large carrot under my courage deficient nose. He told me it was at Holme Pierrepont, and was a ramblers paradise.

So, after bowling like a drain, and feeling very stiff while fielding - not to mention the dropped catch none of my team mates will have known about, until now - I was happy my too high batting position of 11 meant that I would have plenty of time to explore. I'd already seen plenty. I was watching a butterfly minding its own business, when suddenly one of the numerous swallows swooped down and took it 6 inches off the ground, before somehow dropping it before scything round to try and catch it again.

Not sure my colleagues were all that keen on me pointing out an overflying cormorant, however.

So after we began to chase 220, I set off to explore alone.

The ground was sat directly between the River Trent and the rowing course at The National Watersports Centre; all around the cricket ground were parked up skiffs on trailers, and teenagers with legs like trees and backsides cast from iron.

There was a regatta on, casting my mind back to when I had been paid to marshall a similar event back in the summer of 1990, and also the British Powerboat Grand Prix that same year. My favourite ever job, that one.

I made my way to the river, passed a flottila of canada geese, and walked along the path. Both the near and far bank were swamped with the triffid like flower heads of himalayan balsom; an invader yes, but the bees were loving them.

But it was amongst the green alklet at low level that something unusual caught my eye. Flower spikes about 18 inches high, half covered in small pink flowers.

I'm sure they were orchids of some description, and a cursory search indicates that their appearance, combined with their riverside habitat, means they might be marsh orchids of a northern, or southern persuasion. A species I've never seen before.

At least, allow me my moment of glory before one of you shoots my id down in flames and tell me it's a common bungleweed or something.

I was away from the game for a while, but it didn't matter as our batting was proceeding like sedated sloths sexing. Our opponents were rather cocky apparently, and winding us up, and this approach seemed to displease them the most, however.

Sadly, it meant that when I got into bat, there was only one over left, and my team "mate" decided to bat it out dead, so in the end I had what I think is known as a "fresh air game".

But still. Orchids!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 16.07.16

The action kicks off

The pavilion with its posh balcony

The team

Orchid spike?

In closer

Closer still

Sailing past the balsam

Triffid face

Common soldier beetle, not having sex for once

Balsam bee

Lots of this around too

More orchids

Boat central

National watersports centre

A Day of Discovery at Beacon Hill Park, Newark

My leg is crocked.

Well and truly.

My right achilles is injured, so no running for me, and I was very disappointed to miss Parkrun this morning.

It is frustrating, and not running always makes me feel chubby and lazy. But, it is not going to stop me gettting out, it means that everything will be slower. And although it may not be calorie burning, going slower means you miss less.

And so it proved today.

As I headed up the back of Beacon Hill from Clay Lane, I  noticed a lot of insects fluttering about; meadow brown butterflies - but no ringlets as I've seen here in the past in large numbers - bumblebees, and a lot of the little beige, white and grey micro moths you always see skittering from stalk to stalk in the long grass. However I also noticed a striking, criss-cross marked "lep", an attractive cream colour with darker markings.

"Fritillary"!!! my mind screamed to itself excitedly. As I failed to photograph the first one, I noticed several more. Visions of congratulations from the local wildlife and butterfly bods flashed before me, as I was confirmed as the discoverer of the first colony of a rare butterfly colony in Nottinghamshire.

Sadly for my ego, a close look at its antennae revealed no bobbles. It was a day flying moth, a latticed heath as it turned out, an attractive summer moth of no great rarity.

So, I continued on through the estate onto Beacon Hill Estate, and hence to the reserve. I have decided the nursery is the best area to find things these days, and the back path through woodland to the soutern edge of the pasture. Blue cornflowers were out, attracting large skipper butterflies, and what I think may have been big vestal cuckoo bumblebees judging by the absence of pollen basket and the lemon curd coloured edging to the abdomen.

Further round the nursery, ringlet butterflies per usual did their teasing refusal to be photographed.

But it was up on the main pasture I had my other discovery, as I stalked a lemon yellow day flying moth. After another failed photo op, I looked at my feet, to find some bee orchids looking up at me.

My first bee orchids! My first orchids at all in fact. And I had no idea there were any on Beacon Hill Reserve. A well named species, who's bee mimicking flower tricks male bees into pollinating it. But it didn't fool me.

Today, slow, steady and injured won the race!

Looking down the back of Beacon Hill towards Clay Lane

Plenty of ox eye daisies to be seen here

A stunning latticed heath moth

Suspected vestal cuckoo bumblebee

Drat, out of focus. Large skipper again, I think

Attractive blue flowers in Beacon Hill meadow

Bee orchid. Reminds me of Gerald Scarfe's naguthy flowers from The Wall

Library tree bumblebee

Aphids love my sycamores. Bees love the aphid sugar secretions

Blackbird fledgling