Its time for Purpurea varieties in our Broad Leaved Helleborines etc

Wednesday 2nd August 2017 - Swift Numbers over the past few days

Difficult to tell whether or not any Swifts have gone back yet but these have been the aerial counts at Burton In Kendal over the past few nights: 

Checking out the Swifts down Main Street - Wed 2nd August 2017 - 2030hrs

11 birds in total recorded. One entry into front of Royal Cottage when going past on return one leaving Royal Cottage and quickly followed by another entering. A established site already recorded.

Checking out the Swifts down Main Street - Tues 1st August 2017 2030hrs

28 birds (minimum) hawking the skies between Memorial Hall and Manor House

Checking out the Swifts down Main Street - Mon 31st July 2017 2015hrs

24 birds hawking the skies mainly over Neddy Hill, Royal and Manor areas

Checking out the Swifts down Main Street - Sun 30th July 2017 2040hrs

34 birds mainly over Memorial Hall, Neddy Hill, Cocking Yard and Royal.  Also even more birds down above the Manor House

Checking out the Swifts down Main Street - Sat 29th July 2017 2000hrs 

7 birds to count

Tuesday 1st August 2017 - Hutton Roof 1300hrs to 1630hrs

The wind has again been strong with very few butterflies about but still good numbers of Grayling, Meadow Browns and Small Heaths together with a Brimstone back down in Lancelot.

Brimstone on Betony in Lancelot Clark Storth (Click over to enlarge)

I found Great Burnett almost at the top of Vicarage Lane just below the new building on the left. Also lots of Broad Leaved Willowherb showing

Broad Leaved Willowherb

Another plant which is doing extremely well if not too well is the Traveller's Joy or Old Man's Beard (a clematis) - see photo below which is spreading quite dense on some of our local limestone pavements.

Travellers Rest or Old Man's Beard.

Now back to the Orchids

Found a few nice bits today and here are some of the "Dark" or Purpurea specimens of Helleborines and also a nice new "hybrid".

One of the "Dark" or Purpurea specimens on a different area today (Click over to enlarge)

Above is yet another plant back on the regular fell I have been working on. There is no doubt whatsoever in my eyes that this deserves the name "purpurea" its far better than "dark phase" for me today,  but whatever your choice! 

A good "Purpurea" specimen today on 1st August 2017 (Click over to enlarge)

Absolutely incredible to yet find another "atrorubens led hybrid" lurking within some juniper and hazel canopy! reasonably fresh as well.  I keep saying we have seen the last of the atrorubens and then another one just seems to appear from its hiding place.  I was most impressed with this one and you can see again it has the atrorubens flowers yet with a light green stem suggesting E.helleborine and again E.helleborine leaves. Another cracker as they say!!

New Schmalhauseneii found today - Click over to enlarge and check next photo

A beautiful Atrorubens-led "Hybrid" (Click over to enlarge)

I don't think I can ever remember having a atrorubens or atrorubens-led hybrid come through later than July before and this was a lovely find. You would never have found it unless you were prepared to move some of the canopy and vegetation. 


Monday 31st July 2017 - Hutton Roof 1330hrs to 1630hrs

Very windy and struggling to get photos, but we did manage a few.  To start I want to show you this little beauty I found today.  Does it remind you of anything?  Well I had to do a double take on this knowing full well it was a "helleborine" yet for a while I thought it was taking on the "lempet" feature!!

A Helleborine thats jealous of the nearby "Lempets" (Click over to enlarge)

A very light phased and well spaced out helleborine (Click over to enlarge)
See next photo 

A beautiful light phase helleborine which is well spaced between the flowers
found on Hutton Roof today (Click over to enlarge)

Variagated Specimen Helleborine as at 31st July 2017 (Click over to enlarge)

Probably the last photo of the year for this beautiful plant.  It is now starting to go over. 


And here is yet another very light phase plant I found today and is probably about 10" high. Very close to Escarp 11 and 12 (hybrids) and also other normal helleborines close by.

A small 10" helleborine now showing very light phase (Click over to enlarge)

And here again a closer view (Click over to enlarge)

Equally as charming are the "dark phase" or purpurea specimens and here is one on its way which I took today. Within a week or ten days we should have several specimens coming through.

A Purpurea or "Dark" specimen on HRoof today (Click over to enlarge)