I Love Arnside and Silverdale: Snippets of Wealth - Tuesday 18th June 2019 - Holme Stinted Pastures and Holme Park Fell.

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

Snippets of Wealth - Tuesday 18th June 2019 - Holme Stinted Pastures and Holme Park Fell.

It was my intention today to check out the rare hybrid orchids which we have had in the past near to the top of Holme Stinted Pastures, but I was quickly disappointed to find that most of the specimens have already been nibbled off before they have had chance to show. Also the nearby population of Adders Tongue ferns have also had 99% of all their spikes nibbled as well. I am not totally surprised having noticed the cattle all over this area more recently.

All's not lost, they had missed just one, a very small specimen which I have managed to get a photo of and shown below:

I am not sure just what this orchid is? for my money I would consider it to be a hybrid and would think perhaps Northern Marsh Orchid played a part, but never sure with these.

The area does lend itself to Common Spotted Orchid, but other than that I have never noticed any main colonies of anything else in the area, although last year I did have some stunning hybrid varieties and there were only a couple of cattle present. If you want to check these stunners from last year why not click on the following link:-

https://epipactisatrorubens.blogspot.com/2019/01/common-spotted-orchid.html

Also today I did have a couple of nice orchids which I think maybe Common Spotted Orchids shown below

Yesterday was also good for the occasional butterfly and it was lovely to have a Painted Lady although well worn which did allow me to take a photo, besides that I had a Small Heath butterfly and a Common Blue male butterfly and the moths were not left out either with a new for the year appearance of the Chimney Sweeper Moth and also a Cinnabar.

Painted Lady butterfly

The flowers were also doing OK today with the fresh emergence of Asperula cynanchica (Squinancywort) and also some Hypericum pulchrum (Slender St. Johns Wort), the Galium sterneri (Limestone Bedstraw) is doing well.

Todays birds included several Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, 3 Willow Warblers and 2 Chiffchaffs.

Hypericum pulchrum - (Slender St. John's Wort)
Photo: Holme Stinted Pastures 18th June 2019

Ophioglossum vulgatum - (Adders Tongue Fern)
Photo: Holme Stinted Pastures on 18th June 2019
95% of the Adders Tongue had been cattle grazed just like this one above, but thankfully we did have at least one survivor (shown below)