Adur Orchids

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23 June 2008
Native wild flowers recorded for the first time this year consisted of frequent Fragrant Orchids, which were nearly finished on Anchor Bottom, Upper Beeding.
 

5 June 2008 A few Bee Orchids have appeared on the verge in Mill Hill Road where most of them had been destroyed.  Destruction Report Adur Orchids

4 June 2008
There were the first sign of a few flowering Pyramidal Orchids on the open bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting.

1 June 2008
Four Green-winged Orchids were seen on the Mill Hill Cutting southern bank for the first recorded in the Shoreham boundaries. The patterns were much paler than usual. Hundreds of Spotted Orchids were in flower on the southern bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting, but there appeared to be less than normal.
 

16 May 2008
The beginnings of a flowering Spotted Orchid were spotted on the south side of the Slonk Hill Cutting.
 

10 May 2008 With considerable dismay I noted that the Bee Orchid colony in Mill Hill Road seems to have been deliberately destroyed. It seems to have been more than just mown as it was levelled to remove some of the top soil. I have seen this happen on horse pastures. It is possible that the orchids could even survive this drastic measure.

As the only other site known in Shoreham, a private pasture next to the Waterworks House has been covered in chalk spoil, it is likely that this orchid is now extinct in Shoreham. The culprits are unknown. The patch is shown on the photograph above on the far right. It is very likely just to have been heavily mown. One Bee Orchid has been discovered before on the verges of the Coastal Link Cyclepath at Upper Beeding.

26 April 2008 My first orchids of 2008 were frequent Green-winged Orchids pushing up from the southern side turf on Anchor Bottom.

20 April 2008
Early Purple Orchids were in flower at Tottington Woods near Small Dole.

Report by Ray Hamblett on the Adur Valley (Yahoo Group)

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26 August 2007
On a half an hour trek on the southern (north-facing) slopes of Anchor Bottom (Dacre Garden entrance), Upper Beeding,  I stumbled over the first Autumn Lady's Tresses of 2007, and there were half a dozen of these small easily overlooked orchids in a small area and were probably only a small proportion of a much larger number in the same general area the other orchids were found.

17 June 2007
The Bee Orchids on the verge of Mill Hill Drive were now wrinkled and past their best. There were only a handful seen still in flower, although I expect I would have discovered more if I searched them out.

12 June 2007
In the breezy (Force 5) warm (>21.9 ºC) sunshine, butterflies were blown about considerably. A detour to Anchor Bottom recorded 48 Fragrant Orchids were seen in approximately the same area that the Green-winged Orchids are found earlier in the year. This area (measured at 3 acres) was on the south (north-facing) bank to Anchor Bottom and contains evidence of cattle use.

8 June 2007
Two Fragrant Orchids, Gymnadenia conopsea, were seen in flower for the first time this year on Anchor Bottom. This species is infrequent locally and the large expanse of Anchor Bottom and nearby fields are it only known location covering well over a hundred acres. They are recorded only occasionally and finding two in the shelter of a large Hawthorn was exceptional.
A singleflowering Bee Orchid stalk was noticed in the long grass and herb meadow verge of the Downs Link Cyclepath just south of the Cement Works. A few Pyramidal Orchids were beginning. On the southern bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting there were the expected hundreds of Common Spotted Orchids but there did not seem to be as many as in previous years.

5 June 2007
A half a dozen or so Bee Orchid stalks were in flower on the verge in Mill Hill Road. A few Pyramidal Orchids were beginning including one on the lower slopes of Mill Hill.

3 June 2007
A single Pyramidal Orchid was seen in flower on the grassy verges next to the Downs Link Cyclepath just south of the Cement Works. A few hundred Common Spotted Orchids were seen on the southern bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting. They were ahead of the peak flowering period.

25 May 2007
The first Bee Orchid of the year was seen on the verge in Mill Hill Road.

20 May 2007
The first Common Spotted Orchids (one seen in full flower and others budding) were seen on the southern bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting.

1 May 2007
Under the Beech on Lancing Ring, there was a patch of Early Purple Orchids, Orchis mascula, but they looked well past their best.

29 April 2007
There must have been at least a hundred Green-winged Orchids, Orchis morio, in the acre on the southern side at the Dacre Gardens western entrance. I saw one pale almost white flower.

20 April 2007
On an almost barren hillside, apart from the rough grasses, wet and dry cow pats, very frequent Dandelions, occasional Field Speedwell the first Green-winged Orchids of the year were pushing up from the southern side turf on Anchor Bottom.
 

11 September 2006
Autumn Lady's Tresses, Spiranthes spiralis, (an orchid) were again spotted in flower. I did not count the plants.

6 September 2006
On a humid day the first Autumn Gentian and Autumn Lady's Tresses, Spiranthes spiralis, (an orchid) were spotted in flower on the upper part of Mill Hill (just north of the Reservoir). These are both small plants that can only be seen in the short sward.

 

20 June 2006

There were hundreds of Common Spotted Orchids on the southern grassy area of the south bank of Slonk Hill Cutting as usual. Most of them were the normal mauve to purple with distinctly spotted leaves at the base of the plant, but there could have been 3% that were white with leaf spots that could be noticed but they were not nearly so clear.

Image

15 June 2006
With wild flowers bursting into flower everywhere, the highlight was about a hundred Bee Orchids amongst the grasses, Ox-eye Daises, Red Clovers and Buttercups and both Hop Trefoil and Black Medick in Mill Hill Drive, north Shoreham.
 

8 June 2006
A Common Spotted Orchid was seen on Lancing Ring Nature Reserve.

Photograph by Jan Hamblett on the Lancing Ring Blogspot
and on flickr Sussex Wildlife Gallery

4 June 2006

On the southern bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting both Common Spotted Orchids and Pyramidal Orchids were beginning to flower. On the Coastal Link Cyclepath, one or two Common Spotted Orchids were flowering.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

29 May 2006

On the southern grass embankment of Slonk Hill the first handful of Spotted Orchids were flowering, but there were scores, probably hundreds, where the spotted leaves could be seen, but the flowers had not appeared yet.

 

10 May 2006

Over a hundred Green-winged Orchids were scattered in isolation over the southern (north-facing) slopes of Anchor Bottom (north of the Cement Works).

Green-winged Orchid with Cow Pat

Green-winged Orchids in-situ

It was difficult to ascertain their numbers because the extent of their spread was not ascertained. There seemed to be several hundred. 

13 September 2005 I am not surprised that I missed the Autumn Lady's Tresses, Spiranthes spiralis, on previous visits as this orchid is very much smaller than expected and already past its best. There were three plants seen in the short grass just north of the Reservoir on Mill Hill.    The habitat was similar (but not identical) to the lower slopes with prostrate Horseshoe Vetch leaves and the following other plants in flower: Autumn Gentian, Eyebright, Stemless Thistle, Round-headed Rampion, Scabious, Milkwort, Yellow Wort, Carline Thistle and Bird's Foot Trefoil in the short herb (with Plantain and Burnet Saxifrage leaves) and grass area. There were lots of rabbit droppings and three ant's nests.

24 June 2005
 

13 June 2005
 

Bee Orchids, Orchis apifera, were growing tall in the long grass verges with Red Clover at the junction of Mill Hill Road (leads to Mill Hill) and Mill Hill Close.

11 May 2005
The green orchid-like Common Twayblade, Listera ovata, was growing on the verges just north of Beeding Hill car park beside the path on the way to Golding Barn. This all green plant can be quite difficult to discover.

8 -13 May 2005
Hundreds of Green-winged Orchids are flowering at Anchor Bottom, near Upper Beeding, on the eastern bank. There were not as many as in previous years. When the orchids are over there is not a trace of them to see, no stalk or leaves.
 

	7 September 2003 At the disused chalkpit near Lancing Clump, the rare Autumn Ladies Tresses Orchid, Spiranthes spiralis, was in full flower in the same spot where I had previously seen it.     Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on the Lancing Nature Smart Group Full Report Lancing Nature Image Gallery (by Ray Hamblett) Lancing Orchids (by Ray Hamblett)
	14 June 2003 At Beeding Hill, the Fragrant Orchid was in flower, and on the road verges above Anchor Bottom.

7 May 2003
 

The Early Purple Orchids, Orchis mascula, made a fine show under the canopy of Lancing Clump. 

Bee Orchid in the same field as the Stoat

Waterworks Road

flickrSussex Wild Flora