A hot Sunday morning amble around my usual local fen.
I was hoping to find the rare shrub Petty Whin and there also seems to have been an illegal release of Marsh Fritillaries at the site. In the end I saw neither! Nevertheless the Early Marsh Orchids ssp ochroleuca the site is famous for were in fine fettle and I counted an amazing 42 plants, by far my biggest count to date. The usual mixture of 'dact' orchids and hybrids were nearby plus Marsh Lousewort and also a good find of Heath Milkwort. In the drier areas I found plenty of Heath Bedstraw and Heath Speedwell and another new one for me Purple Iris. Odonata included 2 Broad-bodied Chasers amongst loads of Four-spotted Chasers but butterflies were disappointing with just Small Heath, Common Blue and Small Copper seen until I got back to the meadow near the lane and a Painted Lady posed nicely. A Cuckoo was calling constantly but refused to show. Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Yellowhammer were a bit more obliging.
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