A Passion for Purple 7th May 2025

As an antidote to my trip to South Wales on Monday I was of a mind to stay local and entertain myself by seeking out two of our native orchid species that should be blooming now.

Orchids are fascinating and exotic native plants.The very name  Orchid conjures up images of mystique and fable, romance and rarity. Like much of our flora they are now greatly reduced in numbers due to loss of habitat with many becoming scarce and in some cases very rare and only surviving on nature reserves or where they are given special care.Others, in the minority still remain almost common but wherever they are found, rare or otherwise they invariably convey a sense of wonder and excitement on being discovered. 

Today I was going to search for two of Britain's commoner orchid species, the Early Purple Orchid and the Green Winged Orchid, that can be found within my own county of Oxfordshire and which are two of the earliest to flower. Both thankfully still remain in good numbers and finding them would not be taxing as I knew exactly where to go 

The persistent cold wind was still in evidence today but I knew that the day would warm up as the sun rose higher and planned to wait until late morning before setting off on my orchid hunt.

Noon found me at one of BBOWT's (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) fabulous small reserves near Beckley where I knew from a previous visit in early April that a small colony of Early Purple Orchids were growing in a discrete corner under trees and bushes. 

Last time all I could find were about ten rosettes of dark green spotted leaves but now they should have sprouted a fleshy green stem with a column of up 20-50 rich purple flowers at its top. Entering the reserve through a gate all was quiet..I had the place to myself and followed the track down through the wood and then up to pass through another gate and emerge onto a sunny slope.

Here was my prize as the orchids grew on both sides of the grass track that wound across the slope.Most were growing under the trees and bushes away from the track but a small group grew right beside it and thankfully have evaded being trampled.

Their innocent beauty and sheer exoticism bring a sense of delight every time and especially to see them in such numbers. I counted over a hundred and five flowering plants, some over a foot high but most half that size or less.

The sun was pleasantly warm here, sheltered as I was from the wind and the sunlight filtered through the leaves above to flicker onto the orchids and further illuminate their purpleness

I found two that varied from their normal purple neighbours. being pale pink on the sepals and with a lip that was white at its centre with a scattering of magenta spots  and tinged pink on the outer edges.I am told such plants are uncommon.They certainly possessed a unique and delicate beauty.

Alone, I walked slowly and contemplatively back through the wood which while never free of natural sound still contrivesd to bring a soothing sense of peace and tranquillity.

My next destination was a few miles further east, almost to the border between Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire where Bernwood Meadows another of BBOWT's superb reserves is situated. The reserve consists of three large hay meadows, 19 acres in extent and is famed for its abundant flora and butterflies. It adjoins the ancient Bernwood Forest currently managed by Forestry England.

At this time of year the meadows are literally carpeted with Green winged Orchids, thousands upon thousands of them. Their name is derived from the lateral sepals (wings) being marked with half a dozen thin green parallel lines and which give rise to its alternative name of Green veined Orchid

Drawing up into the tiny well hidden car park I stepped out of the car to be met with a purple haze, a sea of purple orchid flowers as far as I could see. Again I was entirely on my own with not another soul present. A Lesser Whitethroat greeted me from deep within the thick blackthorn hedge that borders the meadow, its discrete warble ending in a familiar, distinctive loud and rattling finale.

Walking into the meadow I moved amongst such a profusion of rchids it was almost too much to comprehend.They were at their very peak both in colour and quantity, ranged in straggling lines or larger groups

My head spun with where to look first, trying to decide which were the finest plants to photograph and having to take great care not to tread on any.

The exposed nature of the meadows meant the wind blew unhindered although the sun kept it warm enough for me to only need a jumper. Green winged Orchids are shorter than Early Purple Orchids being between 5-15 cms in height.The flower heads varied bewilderingly in various shades of deep purple and even lilac. Amongst the majority of purple headed plants there were others sporting pink flower heads, whilst yet others displayed white flowers with pink edging  and a very few were pure white.

Green winged Orchids in a variety of colours

Borne on short fleshy green stems each orchid head bent to the gusting wind but remained steadfast due to its stout stem. 

I took many photos of the various coloured heads but in the end conceded to a mental and physical exhaustion of sorts and just wandered through this botanical sea of purple marvelling at the sheer profusion that nature can produce when allowed to.

Note the green caterpillar photobombing my picture!

Like many other orchids the Green winged Orchid has suffered from changes of land use and loss of habitat but sympathetic management of churchyards, rough pastures and the creation of reserves has led to a substantial revival of this orchid's fortunes as evidenced here at Bernwood Meadows.

Walking back to the car park I was pleasantly surprised to discover four Early Marsh Orchids cloistered on shorter stems amongst a scattering of Green Winged Orchids, their more tightly packed candy pink flowers with the lips showing broken, narrow, red parallel lines, rendered them distinctive and left me wondering how they had been overlooked when I first arrived.

Early Marsh Orchid

A nice ending to a pleasant afternoon in rural Oxfordshire and many thanks to BBOWT for creating and maintaining their splendid reserves for everyone to enjoy.

The next day I returned with Peter, my orchid buddy to show him the Early Marsh Orchids but my mind was set on another plant that is also an indicator of ancient meadows, the Adder's Tongue Fern which can be found amongst the hordes of orchids growing at Bernwood.They are tiny and at first I was somewhat daunted as to where to look for them.

I walked randomly amongst the orchids  and within ten minutes there they were, their single spade shaped pointed leaf protruding a couple of inches if that amongst the burgeoning ground level vegetation. Once you got your eye in it was comparatively easy to discern them, hidden amongst the rest of the vegetation.The leaf being slightly paler green and noticeably pointed stands out with a somewhat phallic stalk in which are the spores and that resembles a snake's tongue as it stands proud and erect in front of the leaf 

They formed small colonies and we found at least three such colonies and I am sure there were many more.Years ago when I was living near Brighton in Sussex I was, on behalf of Sussex Wildlife Trust the volunteer warden for Ditchling Beacon Nature Reserve one of which prized plants was Adder's Tongue Ferns and this was the last time I had seen them.I never thought that thirty years would pass and before I would see them again and in Oxfordshire.

Four Dotterels in the Brecon Beacons 5th May 2025

Bank Holiday Monday and having only yesterday returned from two weeks on the Isle of Arran I was not really in the mood for substituting Arran's rocky shores and golden sands for the  bleak concrete confines of my local Farmoor Reservoir.. There was also further disincentive in the form of a cold and strong wind blowing from the north which would render any birding at Farmoor uncomfortable to say the least

So what to do?

A report from a few days ago of four Dotterels making a stopover at Cwm Cadlan National Nature Reserve near Merthyr Tydfil in SouthWales was appealing and today they were reported to still be there. Dotterels are migratory plovers that spend the winter inhabiting a narrow band of semi desert in North Africa, extending from Morocco eastwards to Iran.They breed in the Arctic tundra from Norway to eastern Siberia whilst a small but declining number still breed in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland.

Small groups of Dotterels known as 'trips' are a regular feature of late Spring in Britain and such birds can turn up anywhere but usually favour grassland or extensive flat arable fields where they often remain for an extended period before moving north to their breeding grounds.

I was pleasantly surprised to find these four were only 82 miles from my home but less appealing was the fact it would require two and a half hours driving to get there. 

If I left fairly promptly I would be there by 11am. It was decision time!

I took the plunge and set off for the Land of Leeks. It was a far from unpleasant drive with surprisingly light traffic for a Bank Holiday Monday and for the most part I was driving through countryside at its very peak of Spring perfection. An abundance of roadside hawthorns spread shawls of thick white blossom over their branches, spilling down like melting ice cream and everywhere was vibrant in all possible shades of green that lasts only for these few wonderful weeks of burgeoning renewal 

Eventually I turned off the  main road and entered the reserve, passing over the Ponsticill Reservoir's narrow causeway, following a lane into woodland and then out onto an even narrower road that climbed ever upwards, taking me higher into an open airy landscape of grassy plateaux while in the distance rose the undeniably wild and magnificent Brecon Beacons. 

It was both uplifting and energising. 

Following Birdguides directions I carried on driving until I was at a summit before the road dipped downwards. Here I discovered four other cars parked somewhat haphazardly on the verge

I had arrived at my destination and for miles a rural landscape of moorland and mountain lay around me but where on earth in all this vast open countryside were the Dotterels? Clearly they were not on the small road I was parked by so must be out there in the open country somewhere.but which side of the road? Logic told me they would be on the right side where the  land rose further to another ridge

Fortunately I knew that Richard  a friend of mine had been here to see the Dotterels earlier this morning so I rang him.

Hi Richard, I am at the Dotterel site but not sure where to go to find them

Ever helpful Richard told me, as I had summised, that they were off to my right where the ground rose to a ridge with a some small rocks along its top.

Great. Thanks

I set off into thick and rough tussocky grass and headed skywards towards the rocks.I followed a narrow indefinite track that had been formed through the grass by presumably other birders or sheep and eventually made it to the the ridge but found no sign of anyone. My heart already beating fast due to the effort of making it to the ridge sank as I saw a handful of birders lined up on yet another distant ridge obviously looking at the Dotterels

Another lung bursting yomp through uneven terrain ensued to get to them and twenty minutes later I arrived amongst a scattering of limestone slabs known as limestone pavement and to my mind not dissimilar to where Dotterels like to nest in the Cairngorms.

The small gathering of four or five birders were crouched here on the flat rocks watching the Dotterels as they fed on the damp slightly spongy turf amongst the rocks in typical plover fashion, moving amongst the rocks, regularly appearing and disappearing but always keeping in casual contact with one another. 

Now at an elevation of 458m  there was no hiding place in this exposed area of rocks and grass from a wind that blew strong and cold with precious little to hinder it. I sat on a rock, shivered inwardly and waited as did the others. Fortunately everyone of us was for once of a like mind and understood the best course of action was to sit on the rocks and wait for the birds to come to us rather than chase around after them. it really was no hardship to sit in this remote and scenic place with the promise of the Dotterels eventual arrival before us to come.

For a while they remained at some distance amongst the furthest rocks but slowly worked their way towards us, their heads poking over rocks and then disappearing only to re-apppear somewhere else but inexorably moving closer.

There were two females and two males and as every birder knows the females are the more brightly coloured of the two sexes and unusually it is the male who is not only duller in plumage but incubates the eggs and looks after the young whilst the female goes off in search of another mate.

Despite my thick warm downlined jacket the wind was making life thoroughly uncomfortable. All was forgotten however when a female suddenly appeared from behind a rock, in the open and relatively close. Here at last was my opportunity to record and enjoy this beautifully coloured bird with its bold white eyebrows, rich rufous breast and black belly.What a sight as she posed perfectly for a few seconds on the short moorland grass.

We remained motionless and allowed her and the other three birds to pass by but the best was yet to come as they worked their way further up the sloping terrain to the edge of the rocks and then returned but much closer this time. Slowly they moved nearer and nearer until a male and female were no more than a dozen feet from us.It was quite unbelievable how confiding they were and we made the most of it. Everyone had a camera of course and there was no possible need to move closer so the birds remained confident and untroubled by our presence.

Female Dotterel

Male Dotterel

Their mode of feeding was in typical plover style.Standing motionless for a while and then moving onwards a few steps. Their large dark eyes surveyed the ground for the tiniest of movement that would betray their invertebrate prey. Every action was performed in a halting, considered fashion.When they saw anything they would instantly move to seize it or on a number of occasions dig whatever it was out of the ground with their bill.Then they would move on to repeat the process over and over.All in total silence.

I set my camera into overdrive as I lapped up this golden opportunity to get some amazing close up images of what is now becoming an increasingly rare bird in Britain.They were the proverbial birder/photographer's dream come true.

It could not last of course and they slowly moved away and we resorted to chatting amongst ourselves and sharing our thoughts on this very special moment.A release of tension and a communion amongst like minded people. Strangers but bonded for a moment in time by this experience.