Never before have I seen a single solitary Bee Orchid?! Not in the last two years have I spotted Pyramidal Orchids either?! Though I have seen them there on two separate years!
When I go back to investigate two days later I end up finding around 70 to 80 Bee Orchids but not the 10,000 that was stated to be there! I bump into a poor chap with a mask on as he was a Hayfever sufferer and also a Wild Orchid enthusiast! First time I have found anyone at this location looking for Wild Orchids!
We have a good chat and he himself states that he had not seen any Bee Orchids for a few years and I tell him I have visited the site for 6 years now and this is the first time I have seen them! He is somewhat surprised at this and we chat about why they fail to appear for a few years and the come out in force as they seem to have done this year.
He tells me of a patch of a dozen he just saw and says he has seen about fifity. But we are on one side of a path I have ner really investigate before and I myself just come from the other side of the path were I had come across a few dozen of them and he was unaware that there were any found there!
After he departs I then go looking for the patch of a dozen Bee Orchids he had mentioned and found another patch of four. Then I stumble across a patch of 32 bloody Orchids and forgot I had seen a patch nearby which meant it was 36 Bee Orchids. Walking back to my bike which was laid down in its side I then realise I had forgotten about another patch a bit further away but where my bike lay. Though about 30 metres away form the large patch that made it 40 Bee Orchid along a 30 metre line!
I had also probably seen another dozen or two in other sections on that side, some I had pointed out to the chap when we first bumped into each other. SO about 65 approximately and I had seen a couple of dozen at least on the other side of the path. Ths chap was unaware there were any located on the other side and so we realised that there were indeed many dozens showing themselves this year.
I actually do now realise it was indeed around 100 Bee Orchids I had seen that day!!
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