The links at Littleferry are a mass of wildflowers at this time of year but, as always, our main reason for going there this morning on a cold, overcast day, was to....
....enjoy the uplifting feeling of finding the spectacular northern marsh orchids that abound there. They, too, are not enjoying this weather as....
....although there are plenty of them, most are small. Of far more serious consequence, we found worryingly large numbers of....
....bumblebees comatose or dead in amongst the flowers, victims, presumably, of the chill 11C still-air temperature. Bumblebees are having a hard time, suffering from the scourge of pesticides as well as loss of habitat. A prolonged cold spell, which is what we're in at present, is about the last thing they need.
We walked briefly in the woods at the back of the links to check progress with the other resident orchid at Littleferry, to find that the creeping ladies' tresses hadn't grown at all since our last visit on 1st June - see earlier post
here. Presumably they're holding on in anticipation of summer arriving.
We also walked along the beach, and spent some time sitting looking out across the low tide and hoping to see some wildlife. We were rewarded with a dozen or so gulls, one small flight of what might have been oystercatchers, and....
....a high-flying skein of geese.
The links at Littleferry are a mass of wildflowers at this time of year but, as always, our main reason for going there this morning on a cold, overcast day, was to....
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