May 9th New Buckenham Common

This morning, I was more than ready to find my second orchid species of the year. There's no better place to do that than at New Buckenham Common. It is not a place that I'm really familiar with, but thankfully Dad knew the way. So here we were in search for the green-winged orchid. Apparently, New Buckenham has the largest display of this orchid in Norfolk. I was told to expect hundreds of them. I couldn't wait!

Green-winged Orchids at New Buckenham Common

After parking the car and walking onto the common, however, I could not find a single one. But then, a little further up the field, we finally discovered one. And then another one. And another one. It only seemed to be a small patch, there they were. This turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg as just beyond a gate into the next field, we found more patches of green-winged orchids here and there. And then we met a member of staff with a strimmer in her hands (don't worry, she wasn't going to mow the orchids down) who told us that there were even more at the far end of the reserve. She wasn't wrong! There were thousands of them! Each a different size and colour, from purple to pale pink. But what I really wanted to see was a white one (a rare variation). I looked everywhere, but every time I thought I had found one just kept turning out to be cuckoo flowers!

Green-winged Orchid

Green-winged orchids are dainty looking things with fewer and much larger flowers than that of the early purple orchid. Their sepals form a hood which are marked with green or bronze coloured lines that, if you peer under the hood, appear like wings, hence the name. This is another 'trickster' species that advertise to a bee to pollenate it for a reward of nectar only for the bee to discover that it had been fooled. There is no reward!
















Though we were completely surrounded by these orchids, it is hard to believe that this is one of the fastest declining species in the UK. Once it was common and widespread, but now it has disappeared from at least 50% of its former range in the last 70+ years thanks to a change of agriculture. Today, green-winged orchids are listed as Near Threatened. I just hope this breathtaking display of purple and pink from this site continues for many years to come for future generations to see for themselves.













While I was mainly here for the orchids, I did also manage to hear two species of bird that are also declining fast. Corn bunting and turtle doves were singing somewhere in the bushes, but I was unable to see them as I had left my binoculars at home. But hearing their purring and jangly songs were enough for me. An extra bonus for a successful day of orchid hunting!