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What follows is an account of the premature demise of a colony of Bee orchids in the Grimsby area.
On June 10th I found a Bee orchid by the base of the footbridge over Peaks Parkway. After having informed Chris Heaton about this he decided to look on the nearby roadside verge, locating about 4 more in various states of flowering on June 12th - a Friday. That evening my partner and I walked with our dog the length of the footpath that runs alongside the road during which time I had a rough count of some 80-90 Bee orchid along the verge.
The following evening (June 13th) Chris Atkin and I undertook a count of the Bee orchids on this grass strip and counted a total of 138. There were perhaps more on the opposite side of the road and also nearer the Weelsby Road end of the Parkway. Unfortunately we were never able to count these as come Monday morning (June 15th) the council mower had done its job. I have not been back since to do a systematic count of the remaining orchids although I estimate less than a dozen.
What is ultimately frustrating is that I emailed a local councillor for advice regarding the local authority's mowing scheme for the area - I still have had no reply to that or any follow-up emails. The timing was most unfortunate given that we counted the 138 on a weekend and they were mown in to oblivion on Monday morning along with a wealth of other wildflowers, butterflies and moths. What remains on the verge is a smattering of wildflowers and dominant grasses which is precisely where the orchids were not growing.
So a familiar story. I shall be contacting the relevant department about this. Unfortunately this site along with the adjoining grasslands are subject to a potential development which renders the future of this local wildlife haven very uncertain indeed.
Regards,
Josh
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