WINK'S MEADOW, METFIELD

   This morning I paid a visit to Wink's meadow at Metfield which is a traditionally managed meadow that as far as is known has never been ploughed or had any chemicals or fertilizers applied to it which means it is very rich in wild flowers and contains many rare species that are not found in many other places in the region. Walking to the meadow from where the car was parked I saw several Skylarks rising into the sky singing profusely and on arrival saw that the meadow was totally enclosed by hedges and trees from the surrounding agricultural fields. The meadow itself is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

   I wandered along the edge of the meadow where a few people had walked before and immediately came across a red/purple orchid swaying in the breeze which on closer examination turned out to be a Pyramidal orchid. They are aptly named as the flower spikes form a pyramid shape as the flowers emerge; the flowers are pure in colour and have no markings which makes them easy to identify as the only other orchids with similar flowers are Fragrant orchids but their flower spikes are much more elongated.

   Continuing along the path I observed a few Common Spotted orchids as well as an occasional Bee orchid and many other wildflowers. Reaching a damper area I started looking around in earnest and after a little while spotted my target for the day which was a Frog orchid. These orchids are found in very few areas in the eastern counties and are in fact extinct in Norfolk and Essex  and this is the only site in Suffolk; they used to be more prolific but the loss of suitable habitat has led to a sharp decline in their numbers. They are not really much to look at being predominately green in colour and their small height makes them hard to spot in the grassland and easy to tread on if you are not careful

OTHER BEESTON BEAUTIES

   Among the multitude of plants and flowers we found in the boggy areas of Beeston Common were some that are more usually seen in the northern most regions of the country and more commonly in Scotland. These were Sundews which are carnivorous plants that attract insects onto their leaves which then become trapped by the sticky surfaces and are gradually absorbed into the leaves in the form of a soup.  There are two species resident here which are the Round Leaved and the Great Sundews. The Round Leaved Sundew as the name suggests has round leaves which remain close to the ground whereas the Great Sundew has oblong leaves which reach up higher.

   The other wet ground specialist that we found was the Bogbean which thrives in shallow water as well as in damp peaty soil in marshes. The leaves look like a large 3 leaved clover but the flowers look fantastic being pinkish/white and fringed. A great little site well worth another visit in the future.

BEESTON COMMON ORCHIDS

   This afternoon was spent in the company of Simon Harrap who guided me around Beeston Common looking for orchids and other wild flowers. Straight away we saw a multitude of Common Spotted orchids in the lush vegetation along with lots of meadow buttercup and clover before heading to the more boggy areas of the common. Even here there were quite a few Common Spotted but Simon pointed out a different flower that looked to me very much like a Southern Marsh orchid but was in fact a Pugsley Marsh orchid. He explained to me the differences in the two species which are not obvious but include the flowers being larger and fewer in number on the spike and also the flower spike having flowers mainly on one side of the stem. Once I had seen one then others became more obvious to my eyes partially hidden amongst the Black Bog Rush as they are not very tall.

   Continuing around to the edge of the boggy area we spotted a few flowers of the Common Twayblade which is one of the most widely distributed species of orchid being found all over the country on various soil types. The actual flower is a very unassuming green colour and is not easy to spot amongst other vegetation but I managed a few pictures as the only other time I had seen it was deep within a dense woodland which made photography difficult.

   Making our way back towards the parked cars we came across some Marsh Helleborines that were in bud and needed another 2 or 3 weeks to show their attractive flowers. Also in bud were Fragrant orchids so maybe I will return towards the end of July to see if I can get pictures of these two. 

BIRD'S NEST ORCHID AT REYDON

   This is a strange species in that the only time any of the plant appears above ground is when it produces it's flower spike and it has no leaves. The orchid gets all it's nutrients from a certain species of fungus that can normally only be found around the root systems of the Beech tree and the orchid exists as a rhizome with a mass of roots that resemble a bird's nest, hence the name. The flowers are normally only produced in the deep shade of a woodland emerging amongst the rotting debris where no other plants thrive. Because of their colour and the colour of their surroundings they can be very difficult to spot amongst rotting wood and leaves.

   It is found all over the country but is very localised and classed as near threatened but I had heard that it was present in Reydon wood which is an area of ancient woodland recorded since the 1200's. It certainly wasn't easy to find and I found the best way to see it was by crouching down to near ground level and scanning the surrounding area and in the end I located 3 flower stems but 2 of them were past their best as it normally flowers during May so it's getting very late in the season. Getting pictures without using a flash was difficult in the deep gloom and I ended up returning with a tripod to get reasonably sharp photographs.

BEE ORCHIDS AT CORTON

   Following reports from local wildlife enthusiasts on a colony of Bee orchids at Corton sewage treatment works I made my way over to the site and with the help of Ricky F found the orchids including a few unusual white/yellow variants. As the name suggests the flowers resemble bees and are designed to attract male bees to pollinate them although this mechanism is not usually now used and most plants self pollinate very successfully. They occur over most of the south of the country frequently on poor quality land that has recently been disturbed or on short grassland indeed there is a colony on the wasteland next to the new Tesco store in Gt Yarmouth.

   The colony at Corton consisted of at least 100 flowering stems when I visited including 4 of the Chlorantha variant (white/yellow) which is relatively rare. The flower stems don't grow very high (10 to 45 cm) with usually between 2 and 7 flowers on each stem which look quite exotic on close examination. Individual plants can lay dormant for a few years underground even when they are mature but when they emerge they require at least another year without flowering to build up the tuber reserves before producing a spike. Plants can live beyond 10 years and are quite capable of producing flower spikes for many successive years and each flower can produce up to 10,000 seeds so colonies can grow fairly fast. 

COMMON SPOTTED ORCHIDS

   The last couple of days have been spent in the pursuit of orchids in the local area; for this species ,the Common Spotted orchid this meant trips to both Reydon Wood and Gunton Meadow both of which are richly populated with these attractive plants. These orchids generally flower between mid may and august but this may be affected by the seasonal weather with the flower spike being a pyramidal shape as the flowers emerge then becoming more cylindrical as they mature. They rely on beetles in the main for pollination although flying insects also visit them but they don't get any nectar from them as they produce none. When the plants produce seed it is thought that the period of time between germination and reaching flowering age may take 5 years. This species is prone to hybridization with others notably the Southern Marsh orchid which can mean that identification can be difficult unless you are expert in these matters (which I am not!). Pictured below are a fresh spike not fully emerged and a mature flower spike to show the difference in shape.

   Even in the pure Common Spotted orchids the colouration and marking of the flowers can differ between nearly white with faint marks through to pinkish-purple with dark marks as seen below.

   As the name suggests this is a common orchid found all over the country on many different varieties of soil which can colonise new areas quite quickly and can appear in large numbers even on roadside verges sometimes. A super plant to see in flower in the early summer, one to really lift your spirits!

A TALE OF TWO DOVES

   A recent phone call from my mother informed me that she had a Turtle Dove back in her garden this year so on Wednesday I set up my hide in the back garden and sat down to wait. After a couple of hours with only Wood Pigeons and the usual other garden species appearing I could see a dove flying in from the fields behind the house and excitement mounted only to be dashed when the bird landed and I saw it was a Stock Dove. I shouldn't have been disappointed as these birds are quite attractive in their own right and a pair of them are regularly seen here all year round so I snapped off a few pictures and returned to waiting to no avail as the only other thing of note was a Sparrowhawk terrorising the bird feeder visitors.

   After returning home Mum called again yesterday to say that the Turtle Dove had been there all afternoon so I made a return trip today and went through the same process of setting up the hide and waiting again. However this time I didn't have long to wait and the super looking Turtle Dove flew in and landed on the lawn. The bird moved under the feeder and began to feed on the spilt seed remnants where it remained oblivious to my presence only a few yards away allowing me to take as many pictures as I wanted.
   Unlike the other species of dove Turtle Doves don't stay in this country all year but instead migrate down to Africa with most leaving by September and returning the following April/ May. In the last 30 or 40 years numbers of these birds have fallen alarmingly and all the conservation bodies are very concerned that they will become extinct in this country if the present trends continue. There is no doubt that many birds are shot each year as they make their way through the Mediterranean countries but whether this accounts for the drastic fall in numbers is open to contention and most experts think that the changes in our farming practices are also to blame. Whatever the cause hopefully the decline in numbers can at least be halted if not reversed as there is no doubt that our country would be a poorer place to live in without these gorgeous little doves pictured below.

 

FIRST DAMSELFLIES OF THE YEAR

   For the first time this year while I was wandering around Carlton Marshes I noticed Damselflies and Dragonflies, not that many admittedly but it was nice to them all the same. The lack of insect life this spring has really been noticeable and must have made life really difficult for anything that relies on them for food.
   There were two species that were noted in the short time I spent with them today out of the many that occur in this country. These were the Azure Damselfly and the Blue-Tailed Damselfly the easiest to spot being the male Azures which are iridescent blue showing up even without the sunlight each sticking mainly to its own little territory on the lookout for a mate. This has to be done fairly quickly as the life expectancy of a damselfly is only a couple of weeks in its adult winged form whereas its larval form can last between 2-3 months up to more than a year depending on when the eggs are laid and the weather. The photographs below show a male Azure Damselfly, a pair (male clasping female) and finally a Blue-Tailed Damselfly.

CARLTON MARSH ORCHIDS

   In the damper and wetter areas of Carlton Marsh at this time of the year you can find hundreds of orchids. Most of these areas are specially managed by cutting down the vegetation later in the year to allow these fantastic flowers to be seen before the grasses and reeds block them from view.

   Identification of the various species of orchid is not something that I claim to be any good at so please be tolerant of any mistakes here or in the future. The vast majority of plants here are the Southern Marsh Orchid but the trouble is that they occur in many different colour forms some with spotted foliage and some without, and this genus of orchids is also prone to hybridize making positive identification difficult for the likes of me. This purple flower below is pretty much a typical Southern Marsh Orchid.

   These two flowers below are obviously much paler with one of them looking like a Heath Spotted Orchid but whether this is the case or in in fact they are hybridized Southern Marsh Orchids would require someone more knowledgeable than me to confirm. All I know is that I love to see them and all other orchid species.

  

WILD FLOWERS AT CARLTON MARSHES

   This morning I visited Carlton Marshes in the hope of photographing the various warblers to be found there but on arrival found a brisk breeze blowing across the marsh which was keeping most birds low down in the reeds. My plan of attack changed to look for wild flowers and insects which seem to have appeared suddenly with the arrival of warmer weather. The meadows are bursting into colour and a walk round quickly revealed several species one of which was the Cuckooflower also known as lady's smock which is now reaching the end of its flowering period being one of the earlier flowers in the meadows.

   Walking to the damper areas of marsh meadows revealed lots of Meadow Buttercup and Red Clover and some really conspicuous clumps of Ragged Robin all of which were attracting lots of attention from bees that I will try to picture at another time.

   Moving further towards the reeds were tall statuesque Yellow Iris normally found near the margins of water and also lots of orchids which are covered in the next blog. The wonderful thing about these meadows is that each time I visit during these summer months I see a different picture as various species flower and disappear.