The Charm of the Chiltern Hills Naturetrek Tour Report 17 - 19 May 2017 Adder’s Tongue Military Orchid Monkey Orchid Green-winged Orchid Report and images compiled by James Harding-Morris Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E:
[email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report The Charm of the Chiltern Hills Tour participants: James Harding-Morris (leader) with four Naturetrek clients Summary A three-day tour comprising some of the best orchid and wildflower sites in the Chilterns, a walk along the Thames path from Goring, as well as a day-trip off the chalk to visit RSPB Otmoor for birds and some traditionally managed meadows with a different community of wild flowers. The weather was mixed and occasionally challenging, but we spiritedly carried on and were rewarded with spells of gorgeous weather. A recurring theme of the tour was hybrids, as we saw hybrid comfreys, orchids, geese and Day 1 Wednesday 17th May We met in the bar of the Lambert Arms, introduced ourselves and, considering that today looked to be the wettest of our three days, opted to visit some of the more local reserves. A short drive later we were at the north side of Aston Rowant NNR, admiring the flora of the car park: Green Alkanet, Wood Forget-Me-Not, and some garden Aquilegia. Heading on to the reserve proper, the damp conditions gave us a great opportunity to see a variety of snails and compare their different features, particularly the similar yellow-and-black striped Cepaea hortensis and Cepaea nemoralis which can be distinguished by the colour of the shell lip.