A terrific orchid count this year. Uphill and downhill and then across the slope. Lots of marbled white butterflies. Thank you all very much indeed.
This year’s total of 4,406 pyramidal orchids is down a bit from last year’s total of 5,033. I think this is because of cold and wet spring that affected growth and development. There were 278 common spotted orchids, some of which had gone over. There was a query or two about whether it mattered if there were some overlooked orchids. I do not think missing a few orchids makes a difference given the large numbers of pyramidal orchis that we counted.
There were two queries about whether there are ticks on Windmill Hill and some very useful suggestions about ways in which the counting method might be improved. I will seek information on whether there are any records or occurrences of ticks on Windmill Hill; if so, the risk assessment and the email for next year will be revised. The suggestions about using two 20-person strings rater than one 30-person string and about getting volunteers for the key roles of being at either end of each string and of recording the counts for each string will certainly be used next year. Thanks to Paul, Ken, Brian, Nick and Jo.
Pyramidal orchids (see the attached photos) are a glorious pink orchid characteristic of species-rich limestone grasslands. They are only found around Oswestry and on Wenlock Edge/Benthall Edge where there are limestone soils with grasslands or old quarry workings. The pyramidal orchids at Windmill Hill are one of the biggest populations in Shropshire. Common spotted orchids (see photo) are usually associated with more neutral soil than the limestone soils on Windmill Hill. This species is mainly located at the western and eastern ends of the grassland where there is a bit more moisture in the slightly deeper soils adjacent to woodland.
Previous orchid counts
- 2018 1,227 pyramidal orchids and 318 common spotted orchids
- 2019 3,574 pyramidal orchids and 197 common spotted orchids
- 2020 orchids not counted because of Covid restrictions
- 2021 4,030 pyramidal orchids and 97 common spotted orchids
- 2022 5,742 pyramidal orchids and 198 common spotted orchids
- 2023 5,033 pyramidal orchids. The common spotted orchids had turned brown because of the hot summer and could not be counted.
Why do we count the orchids?
Counting orchids is an indicator of the changes in the grassland and in the quality or nature conservation value of the grassland. We all love orchids and they are easy to count.
Orchids are a natural part of agriculturally unimproved species-rich grasslands on chalk and limestone soils and on pH neutral soils. They grow together with many other characteristic plant species associated with these grasslands which are invariably rich in species. If such grasslands are not grazed or cut for hay, then scrub species start to colonise including brambles, wild rose, hawthorn, blackthorn and woodland trees such as ash, oak and birch. The grasslands tend to become less rich in species and more dominated by coarse grasses such as perennial rye-grass, false oat-grass and cock’s-foot. They start to resemble roadside verges. These grasslands are often cut in August and the cuttings baled. This exports the plant nutrients that the plants absorb from the deeper soils and ensures that the soil fertility remains low thus both preventing the growth of coarse grasses that love rich nutrients in the soil and encouraging the growth of wildflowers.
The increasing numbers of pyramidal orchids since 2018 are an indicator of the superb quality of the limestone grassland on Windmill Hill and how it is being managed by the Much Wenlock Windmill Trust with a late summer hay cut in place of the previous horse grazing. The species-rich grassland on Windmill Hill and the famous windmill tower are looked after by the Trust who lease the site from the Wenlock Estate. We are looking for a trend over the years to demonstrate that the change in grassland management in 2018 from pony grazing to a hay cut & baling in August is improving the quality of the superb species-rich grassland flora. The overall trend is definitely upwards since 2018. Counting orchids is an indicator of the changes in the grassland and in the quality or nature conservation value of the grassland. We all love orchids and they are easy to count.
