Since 2016 in a damp area at Toad Holes Beck there has been a good population of Southern Marsh orchids peaking at 8 during 2017. However, I have noticed over the years that this area has become overgrown with Brambles, Nettles and Himalayan balsam and in 2019 none of these beautiful orchids could be found.
So on Saturday it was our group’s work day and we teamed up with Peter Gurney and Tia from YWT to tackle the problem. The first phase carried out by Peter was to strim the area of Bramble etc and then we all got to work raking away all the cuttings.
Naturally wildlife was never far away with Tia observing a possible Field Vole, then a Queen bee ( possible Buff -tailed ) was found, observed and put back quickly followed by a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker.
A special thank you to our friends from the YWT for their help and equipment and the tea and biscuits!!!
So in spring we will monitor the area and cut if required and fingers crossed the southern’s will return.
