The Home Front - a visit to Anglesey in North Wales

Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza traunsteineroides) flowering at Cors Bodeilio in Anglesey in North Wales

Closer to home in the UK we have had some wonderful orchid experiences this year. We took a group of enthusiasts to visit the Anglesey Fens National Nature Reserves (NNR) and one of Wales’s largest expanses of sand dunes in Newborough Warren NNR in North Wales in mid-June. Both these habitats are orchid-rich: Newborough Warren has carpets of Marsh Helleborines (Epipactis palustris) in July as well as good numbers of Early Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata), Northern Marsh-orchids (Dactylorhiza purpurella) and Dune Helleborines (Epipactis dunensis) all of which can be seen at more or less the same time depending on how the spring weather has played out. The Anglesey Fens are even more surprising as a result of their unique characteristics – basically peat bogs which are surrounded by ‘necklaces’ of limestone rocks on their outer edges through which water flows into the peat. These springs pick up lime from the rocks which in turn raises the alkalinity level of the marsh creating a habitat that supports unusual combinations of acid-tolerant wildflowers growing side by side with species normally associated with chalk substrates. It is quite a surprise to see Lesser Butterfly-orchids (Platanthera bifolia) and Fly Orchids (Ophrys insectifera) with their roots submerged growing next to Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)! Another rare orchid species that grows in the Anglesey Fens is the Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza traunsteineroides). They were pretty much past their flowering time by the time we visited but we did find a couple of decent specimens to photograph. Narrow-leaved Marsh-orchid is usually the first of the marsh orchids to flower which can be a handy tip for indentification although its appearance is really quite distinctive. It is often found flowering well before the so-called Early Marsh-orchid which doesn’t put in an appearance until well into May.

The Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera) also flowers at Cors Bodeilio in Anglesey

Our visits to these wonderful nature reserves were greatly enhanced by our guides. The Senior Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Wardens, Graham Williams (Newborough Warren) and Les Colley (Anglesey Fens) know these special habitats inside out and ensured that we saw many plants, insects and birds that we might otherwise have missed – and have missed on previous visits!