Orchis x bivonae, hybrid offspring of Naked Man Orchid (Orchis italica) and Man Orchid (Orchis anthropophora) today here in Sicily on the Orchids of Sicily tour I'm co-leading for Mariposa Nature Tours.

Hundreds of these Green-winged Orchids (Anacamptis morio) already in flower this weekend at BBO Wildlife Trust's Bernwood Meadows. Such a wonderful sight!
#WildFlowerHour #Orchids

It was a pleasure to co-lead my first overseas tour for Mariposa Nature Tours earlier this month (please give us a follow, especially if you are into wildlife travel) where we focussed on the native #orchids of Rhodes. The guests we had were simply wonderful and the week was a roaring…

Another great day out in Kent with 7+ Wheatears, Ring Ouzel, Nightingale, Green Hairstreak, Hairy Dragonfly, Yellow wagtail, Anacamptis morio and Ferruginous duck amongst the highlights. With Barry Wright

14/4/24 Lancashire - A couple of weeks after the early flowers appeared, some variation is starting to become apparent among the Green Winged (Anacamptis morio) and Early Purple (Orchis mascula) #orchids . This pair of particularly magnificent plants caught my eye #wildflowerhour

Dense-flowered Orchid Neotinea maculata. With most of the main pine forest habitat out of bounds due to fire risk precautions yesterday, we were lucky to find a few examples by the main car park at La Caldera, Tenerife. European Orchids & Wildflowers

Green-winged orchid and Early purple orchids my first of the year😁overlooking the stunning Morecambe bay 14.4.24

Three faces of Dactylorhiza romana on the flanks of Mt. Etna, Sicily, yesterday during the tour I'm co-leading here with Sicilian legend Andrea Corso for Mariposa Nature Tours. Can't decide which I prefer - pale yellow, purple, or the intermediate flavour.

3/4/24 Rhodes - This little jewel caught my eye on Profitis Ilias; Tempsky's Romulea (Romulea tempskyana). A little-known species with a narrow range, it is scattered through the Eastern Mediterranean. Seen co-leading the Mariposa Nature Tours #OrchidsOfRhodes tour with Jon Dunn 🇺🇦

Overcast skies and heavy showers could not dampen my joy at seeing my first #orchids of the year today! In North Wales, the gorgeous Green-winged Orchids, Anacamptis morio are just starting to open! 😍

A selection of my favourite photos from our recent orchid hunt in Mallorca 🙂 , not the best year due to dry weather conditions earlier in the year, but the rewards were there !

I went looking for Snake’s-head Fritillaries - they were mostly finished but I did find this beautiful Orchis mascula, my first of the year and in such a lovely location. #orchid #earlypurple

They’re back Dr Richard Bate Rhizowen Choclette Green winged orchids on a Lymington verge. Plus beautiful sweet vernal grass that, thanks to the rain, has grown faster than the orchids. #SixonSaturday

12/4/24 Lancs - It's hard being back in the UK, especially after going down with a rotten cold since returning! The sight of multiple spikes of the #orchids Anacamptis morio (Green Winged) and Orchis mascula (Early Purple) definitely cheered me up though! #wildflowerhour

Is this Red Velvet Mite 'attacking' the spider? Assume it's a species of running crab spider? It certainly was running, but the mite didn't let go!

We saw a whopping 52 species of #OrchidsOfRhodes last week with Mariposa Nature Tours’s Jon Dunn 🇺🇦 & Dr Richard Bate. Enough for me to post #AnOrchidAWeek photo every week for a year!
TBH it would be rude not to. What genus do you want to see first?

Back out looking for orchids in the UK this morning: Early Spider orchid the highlight with 1 plant in flower in North Kent and a variant Early Purple orchid.

A picnic under an olive tree surrounded by a carpet of orchids is a very fine thing. Even better when graced with a Heron fly-past
#DentistsWithHerons
#OrchidsOfRhodes Mariposa Nature Tours

Our Orchids of Sicily tour is off to a flying start today, with immaculate Orchis brancifortii & Ophrys grassoana within minutes of our Etna hotel. With Sicilian native naturalist Andrea Corso co-leading with Jon Dunn 🇺🇦, we're getting an unrivalled Sicilian experience already. 😊