As we walked
through the woodland ride which leads to the disused magnesian limestone quarry
we were grateful of the shelter that the Ash, Sycamore and other surrounding
trees and verdant herbage gave us from what now was a blazing hot sun in a clear blue
sky. At this point we didn’t realise
that our next few hours in the quarry were to be spent in sweltering conditions
on what was the hottest day of the year so far.
In this damp and humid atmosphere, we found interesting plants including
our first Wild Strawberries of the day and Ringlet Butterflies, and we
were able to photograph Grasshoppers as we listened to the tac of a Blackcap. Giant sized fungi grew on a decaying tree
stump in a more sheltered and dark area of the wood. Germander Speedwell was abundant along the
sides of the pathway.
Field Grasshopper
Common Green Grasshopper
It wasn’t
long before we entered the more open part of the quarry, it was like entering a
furnace. Not worked since 1934, this old
quarry underlines just how well nature can flourish, when in the main, left to
its own devices with just a little careful management by Durham Wildlife Trust. It is certainly one of my favourite sites in
Durham and I never tire of visiting. It’s
my belief that nature will carry on long after people has disappeared and that
is a comforting belief to have. It was
immediately noticeable that Rock Rose, that the Northern Brown Argus Butterfly
depends upon, was very much abundant. Northern
Brown Argus Butterflies where here in numbers, and although flighty in the
heat of the sun it was possible to gain some decent images. These butterflies are so moth like in flight
they can be easily overlooked. By now we
were in our own little worlds, concentrating upon what was surrounding us and
not feeling a need for the spoken word.
Rock Rose
Northern Brown Argus
Northern Brown Argus
Northern Brown Argus
It is amazingly
easy too, to overlook the Common Twayblade the first orchid along with Lady
tresses to be recorded in Britain, noted by William Turner (born in
Morpeth) in his Names of Herbs in 1548.
Perhaps because of their sheer number in the quarry it would have
been difficult to overlook them today. Despite looking initially uninteresting
they are worthy of closer inspection; the flower being shaped like a human
figure. The plant is pollinated by small
insects which follow the nectar filled groove leading up the lip of the flower.
Very flighty Northern Brown Argus,
Small Skippers, Common Blue, Small Heath and Meadow Brown Butterflies
were around us during our inspection of the botanical interest.
Twayblade
Northern Brown Argus
Twayblade
If Common
Twayblade is easy to pass by, I can think of few people who would pass exotic
Bee Orchids without showing some real interest, and we came across a few fine
examples today. The flower has evolved wonderfully to look like bees even down
to the hairy parts, the evolutionary irony is that at least in Britain the
plants are self-pollinating. In parts of
Europe bees still aid pollination.
Common Spotted Orchids where everywhere and Sam found us a Pyramidal
Orchid too.
Bee Orchid
Bee Orchid. The yellow pollinia clearly seen will be blown by a slight breeze and stick onto the stigma and pollination will take place.
Bee Orchid. One of the Pollinia appears to be stuck to the stigma.
Time passed
us by very quickly and it was around 2:00pm when hot, dry and not a little
hungry we decided to adjourn back to the car for lunch. As I ate my sandwiches I looked at the wild
Poppy at the side of the road which looked as if it had dropped to the wayside
on Remembrance Day. It was one Poppy of
many seen today, although Poppy fields of years gone by are regrettably a true
rarity these days. Rested and cooled
down a little we returned to the quarry.
Climbing the stone steps to the upper storey was demanding in the heat.
Pyramidal Orchid
Sam is keen to let me know he found the Pyramidal Orchid.:-)
Small Heath Butterfly
Until now we
had left the wild strawberries alone, but we eventually gave way to temptation
and tried one. The tart luscious taste was
fleeting but seldom have I enjoyed such a small item so much, the sun and
surroundings adding pleasure to the experience.
That one small strawberry put Morrison's insipid berries to shame.
Wild Strawberry
Wild Strawberry
By now I had
almost forgotten we were in Durham as the limestone area, grassland and floral
interest suggested wilder areas of Europe, in the main such areas long gone in
an overpopulated and over worked Britain.
We both decided that we don’t give enough attention to botany and on my
part I forget some of the names of plants.
We decided that we must give more attention to the subject.
Common Centaury
Common Milkwort
The quarry
is perhaps best known for the large number of Dark Red Helleborines it supports. This orchid is among my favourite of flowers,
but sadly it will be a week or two before they bloom, although that gives us a
reason to make a quick return visit, so there is always a positive side to
these things. We did eventually come
across a newly opened flower of this orchid which gave an idea of how these
plants will look when the many spikes hold their drooping bell like red wine-coloured
flowers.
The only Dark Red Helleborine we found with a flower and still not at its best.
Thyme was everywhere.
Greater Knapweed
The
afternoon passed as we examined plants and took the occasional rest. I must have been over 30 degrees and the sun
reflected from bare patches of limestone.
As our visit drew to a close, I added a lifer to my list in the form of
a very faded Dingy Skipper Butterfly.
Large Skipper was also added to days list as was our one and only Small
Tortoiseshell Butterfly which brought our list of butterflies to 10 species
for the day. It was a day when I had
barely given a thought to birds although we did have a nice sighting of Yellowhammer
and a fleeting one of Greater Spotted Woodpecker, later finding a worn
feather of the latter species. Even odonata had had a look in with a Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonfly giving us the run around. We had
the quarry to ourselves for most of the time only coming across the occasional
visitor with whom we exchanged some pleasant chat.
Large Skipper Butterfly
Attractive Snail Shell
As we
approached to wooded area again I felt the very slight touch of a cooling
breeze, just for a couple of seconds, but it was so welcome as was the relative
cooling shade given by the trees. Red Admiral Butterflies seemed to enjoy this shade too. Sam
heard the call of Common Terns, probably flying to Castle Lake which we
usually visit, but today it was right that our full attention was given to the
quarry habitat, and we had been well rewarded. Such was the silence of the day; I had quite
forgotten that we were next door to a large working quarry and it wasn’t until
we were almost back to the car that I heard to mechanical sounds.
Mouse-ear Hawkweed
Pignut
Wild Rose sp
Sam found
his car covered in a coating of pollen as we decided to make off for home, leaving
any further exploration of the area until a later date. We were cream crackered. I arrived home, had a beer and lay down for
ten minutes, which extended to forty minutes, and if I hadn’t needed to eat it
would have been longer!. Best day I’ve
had in a long time.
Common Spotted Orchid
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