Orchids and other stuff

I've been both a little idle and quite involved to the extent that there has been no blog entry for some time in spite of all the activity going on during the months of May and June. Apologies to my "readership" - huh ! Excuses include a great two weeks spent in Aragon just south of the Pyrenees trying to photograph various vultures. Still not right but getting better ( see Griffon photo ). I've visited Cornwall ( Land's End )  where my daughter lives; this location being the furthest place from Ironbridge which she could find and still live in England. We also went with friends to the Hay Book Festival and now have conclusive proof that the Amazon rain forest is not the wettest place on the planet. I digress. 


We are signed up for a course on wild flowers run by the National Trust and at the last session we saw six species of orchid very close to the National Trust car park in Much Wenlock - common spotted, pyramidal, butterfly, bird's-nest, twayblade and a hybrid marsh / spotted variety. Rather good I thought though I gave up trying to remember the host of other wild flowers to be found at this location. As we were being introduced to the limestone grassland which surrounds the car park a red kite flew other whilst being mobbed by a carrion crow. Nobody paid much heed to this very unusual event being more focussed on the flora.

 A Griffon Vulture hanging around the feeding station in Bierge, Aragon. This is quite a sight as around 250 of his mates joined in and attracted the attention of Red Kites, Egyptian Vulture and a Lammergeier !

A Cardinal Beetle and a Pyramid Orchid ( on left ).






The hybrid - spotted /
marsh on the left and a
butterfly orchid on the right.