Badbury orchids

It wasn't just a wonderful sunrise which was on show at Badbury Rings this morning, the ramparts were thronged with orchids. Man, there were just so many of them, it was a wonder. Not just in numbers either, on the cursory observations of an untrained eye, I saw five different types. From top down: Common spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha), Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera), Common Twayblade Orchid (Neottia ovata), Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis). How bloody marvellous is that!  Proportionally the Common Spotted was indeed the most common, then a ways off was the Pyramidal, then way way down in numbers was the Butterfly, with only a handful of Bee and Twayblade; as I said though, I only made a cursory observation, being blown away by the spectacle of it all.

Breather

A butterfly stops briefly for a breather on a Common Spotted Orchid before alighting once again to rejoin the aerial foray. 

A carpet of orchids

As we spiralled upwards around the three ramparts on our evening walk around the ramparts of Badbury Rings, we walked between swathes of orchids which carpeted the steep banks. Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) are represented in huge numbers and many varied forms, each seemingly unique. Whilst this year the Greater Butterfly Orchids (Platanthera chlorantha) are far more abundant that they were last year. Lovely, nature in her finest attire. As we wandered, our course set by the rings themselves, we were afforded a carousel of panoramic views, before descending through a chest high meadow towards the car. What a fine walk, I congratulate myself on my decision to come this way. I think Badbury's going to be a walk of choice for a while.

Common Spotted Orchid

I'm no expert, but I think this is a Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), at first on seeing its shape I thought in could have been a Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), though on closer examination it clearly wasn't; the flowers are all wrong for that. I find the thing with many of our orchid species is that unless they're very distinctive, like the Bee or Burnt Tip orchids, they can vary so much within their species in colour and form, that it's hard for a novice to be certain.