The level of referrals online to this journal’s current Orchid content is amazing me almost as much as my new enthusiasm’s own motivating quality. As it was for British butterflies in the now largely deleted early days, so it is at present for an entirely different specialism. Two such short haul places to go 10 – 15 years ago were Morgan’s Hill, Wilts and Noar Hill, Hants; both of which are also well-known Orchid locations that I have just visited again with evolved purpose.

WWT Morgan’s Hill (SN11 8PZ – SU025672 – see here) is a 12.6 ha (31 acre) SSSI on account of its butterflies, Orchids and the general quality of its ancient chalk grassland. At this time of year there are thousands of Common Spotted, mixed in with which are Chalk Fragrant, Pyramidal, some Lesser Butterfly; and for the sharper eyed Frog Orchids. The last of those occur mostly around former chalk pits at the site’s eastern end, that used to be the best area for more notable butterflies too.

This reserve has gained attention recently for a rare hybrid Frog X Common Spotted Orchid being observed there as well as at other English sites. Ian visited last week and after he sent me pictures the opportunity to evolve myself within a re-visit to a fondly remembered wildlife location proved an attractive draw. Hence late morning on Tuesday (25th) found me striding out from a picnic area car park at 51.404030, -1.975187 to re-acquaint myself with the rather special place.

I was armed with precise GPS co-ordinates for each of the items Ian had recorded, but not being familiar with finding things in that way it took a while to acclimatise. As I tried to locate the first pin drop where three items could be found, another fieldsman approached and so we joined forces to make things easier. The best way to locate the exact spot was to look for trampled ground, and so the following records were gained, including an unexpected fourth.

Frog X Common Spotted hybrid Orchids, from left # 1-4

These hybrids were of the same stature as pure Frog Orchids, with either deep red or yellow-green stems. That parent plant is also prone to hybridise equally rarely with Heath Spotted, as well as Northern Marsh in particular locations, and more widely Chalk Fragrant Orchids. Two extra examples were said to be available about 250 metres from the first, and proved more difficult to convert. I was pleased to eventually self-find item 5 (below, left) after much stomping around on steep slopes. Neither of us could locate the sixth (centre) at an area of trampled ground coinciding with that pin drop. Then, walking away from there I spotted a seventh (right), which upon checking with Ian he said he had missed himself.

An awareness grew here that I was now engaged in what might be termed “hard core” Orchid hunting. The effort in scouring a complex site such as this for these seven stand-outs amongst it’s profusion of countless wild Orchids, on the part of those who had first discovered them, was quite frankly mind boggling. For myself I was further satisfied to have got my eye in with one of the parent plants, after my travails on the Chilterns escarpment last summer (see here). This day’s pure Frog Orchids surrendered higher quality studies (below) than those gained then, and some were also self found so this was a better experience all round.

Not such fickle regular Frog Orchids rising not falling

By the time I left site I could recall the fondly though distantly remembered topography of the entire hilltop. As alluded to earlier, it was especially motivating to have re-worked a favourite site from my early butterflying years in a new and different context. And the same was true a day later (Wednesday) when I re-familiarised myself with another outstanding, southern English SSSI, HWT Noar Hill, Hants. After last week’s Red Helleborine field trip I had failed again to find a tiny cluster of Musk Orchid in bloom at a nearby site in Bucks. So now I bit the bullet and went to seek out what is a nationally important colony of them.

As I walked into then around the former medieval chalk-pit complex of Duke of Burgundy renown (GU34 3LW – SU742319), the abundance of Common Spotted, Chalk Fragrant and Pyramidal Orchids all around was simply breathtaking. In amongst them were quantities of mostly gone over Twayblades, Frogs are said to be there again had I searched, while hundreds of Musk Orchid are spread out at the 20 ha (49 acre) HWT reserve’s eastern end. Morgan’s Hill was spectacular, but now I was witnessing the most intensely lavish Orchid landscape beheld since Aston Clinton Ragpits, Bucks (see here) a year ago. And on this day a whole squad of volunteer surveyors was engaged in painstakingly recording them all.

The delicate yellow gems that are Musk Orchid (pictured below) can only be described as diminutive, though they were easy enough to pick out in the flora rich sward, especially where they occurred in groups. This plant is only found on short-cropped chalk or limestone grassland, and has a southern distribution nationally. It grows from tiny rhizomes to around 15 cm in June and July, producing spikes of 20-30 greenish-yellow, bell-shaped flowers that hang downwards from darker green stems. Those emit a subtly sweet, honey-like scent to attract pollinators, hence their name.

The species has been lost from around 70 per cent of its historic range due to modern agricultural methods, is very susceptible to drought, and cannot compete with other plants amongst taller vegetation. Once tracked down, getting pictures of them to edit was quite tricky, especially as I only selected specimens I could focus upon from already trodden areas. It would have been criminal to walk into the habitat here, such was the density of the wild flower spectacle all around.

As my only previous Musk record at that Bucks site was of gone over specimens, this was virtually another new record to add to the second season tally. And the surroundings, again recalled anew from previous butterflying activity, were out of this world. Since I started doing all this last year, the locations visited have proven consistently to be as stimulating as the iconic group of plants themselves. So it was again with the two more historically unaltered, “unimproved”, chemical-free environments from times long gone of this post. Orchids occur where such settings survive, and that is such a meaningful part of observing them.