WFV, Wharram Percy and Wharram Quarry, 28th June 2016

Submitted by Wildlife Field… on Tue, 5th Jul 2016, 7:22pm

Abundance of OrchidsAbundance of OrchidsThere was one spare seat on the minibus this week; John had pulled out due to illness. After a toilet stop at Stamford Bridge our first port of call was Wharram Percy, a deserted medieval village, where we spent 2 hours exploring. The weather was fair; dry but overcast and warm enough to entice out 4 species of butterfly throughout the day including Small Heath and Common Blue but we saw no dragonflies or damselflies by the pond at Wharram Percy.Common Spike Rush was seen by the pond. Other botanical highlights at Wharram Percy included Fodder Burnet and one spike of Agrimony. Inside the church masses of the non-flowering Liverwort Marchantia were observed. Outside the church it was lovely to see several House Martin nests under the eaves of the church, with parent birds coming and going with food for chicks who were expectantly poking their heads out of the nests.These were among only 12 birds recorded today. The only other bird of note was a Yellowhammer. 

After having lunch at Wharram Percy we drove a short distance to Wharram Quarry where we were astonished at the abundance of orchids on display; mainly Common Spotted Orchids with a smattering of Bee Orchids, Pyramidal Orchids and Twayblade. Woolly Thistle, Carline Thistle, Restharrow, Thistle Broomrape and Tor Grass ( seen at both sites) were also recorded. 85 plants in flower were noted at Wharram Percy and 76 at the quarry. 

As we drove back to Bradford the heavens opened; we had escaped a soaking. On a less auspicious note the windscreen of the minibus had developed a small but growing crack and was going to need replacing for the second time in a month. 

Many thanks to Alice for leading this very enjoyable day out. 

See the photos here. 

Sue

 

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