4 go mad in Dorset!? Sand Lizard,Lesser Butterfly Orchid and Bog Orchid OMFL!!!

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Meeting up with Sean Cole, Len (or Bernard Manning for short) and Stan the Man in Swadlincote in the early morning of Sunday(well actually 7.00am) and after a few hours driving it wasn't long before we hit the magical county of Dorset. The targets for the day included another "mutant" Bee Orchid in the form of the rare variety of Atrofuscus, Smooth Snake, Lesser Butterfly Orchid, Sand Lizard and to finish off the day Bog Orchid in the New Forest.
First stop was Radipole RSPB for the Var.atrofuscus Bee Orchid which had been identified the previous week. Meeting with a group of fellow orchid twitchers along the footpath, the two plants were quite easy to find and after a quick chit-chat I took a number of photos of the orchid.


After Radipole, we drove over to Hartland Moor NNR,near Wareham for the target species Smooth Snake, Sand Lizard and Lesser Butterfly Orchid.
Over the next couple of hours of searching the nearby heathland we connected with a corking female Sand Lizard and good numbers of Lesser Butterfly Orchids, Heath Spotted Orchids and the rare form "pulchella" Early Marsh Orchids.

 The final stop of the day was in the New Forest for Bog Orchid.
Leaving the busy the A34 we were soon on site for the final species of the day.
Wellies were required for this site and it wasn't long before the group so find loads of tiny Bog Orchids in the surrounding vegetation.
As the ground was very boggy photographing the orchids was a bit of a challenge but after getting your feet in the right position I took a number of shots of this tiny orchid.
So at the end of the day and late finish back to the Midlands and thanks to Sean for all the driving it was a long time since I've had four life ticks in day!
So I can say Lesser Butterfly Orchid, Bog Orchid, Sand Lizard and Atrofuscus On My Fu*king List!!

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