A very long and busy day today. At 6:30am, following a drive of over two hours, I was in Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales ready to begin a Breeding Bird Survey. Lots of good birds seen, including breeding Ring Ouzels, Golden Plover and Curlew. With the survey completed by 10am, I set off for home, but it was such a nice day that I couldn't resist a quick visit to Gait Barrows, near Silverdale.
Duke of Burgandy, a speciallity of Gait Barrows. Other butterflies on the wing today included Green Hairstreak, Brimstone and Pearl Bordered Fritillary.
The status of Lady's Slipper Orchid has changed somewhat in recent years. Collected almost to the point of extinction in Victorian times, by the time I first started taking an interest in orchids in the late 1970s, I knew of only two plants in the whole of the UK, one in Yorkshire, and the other in Lancashire, and the exact locations of each was a closely guarded secret. The Yorkshire plant was thought to be the only naturally growing Lady's Slipper in the UK, with the Lancashire plant (above) thought to have been Austrian in origin and planted by a Victorian botanist.
However, in recent years seed has been taken from the Yorkshire plant and it has been propogated at Kew Gardens, and re-introduced to various sites, including Gait Barrows (above). You can read the full fascinating story on the Kew Gardens website.
No longer a secret, today was Lady's Slipper Orchid open day at Gait Barrows, when the public were invited to view the orchids, with signs directing you to the exact locallity. Hopefully this spectacular plant will be allowed to recover.
Herb-Paris
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