Field Trip to Marden meadow on Saturday 25 May 2013

Led by Irene Palmer.

View over Marden Meadow to a Wild Service Tree, Sorbus torminalis.
25 May 2013.

The weather promised to be kind as we left Orpington, an unexpected bonus. I was very pessimistic about this trip, partly because the weather had been so poor and partly because I was doubtful the Green-winged Orchids would be in flower after such a late spring. These orchids were previously called Orchis morio but have been re-classified by Kew following studies of orchid DNA and they are now called Anacamptis morio. May is my favourite month because everything is so fresh and I look forward to the brief couple of weeks when the roadsides are frothy with Cow Parsley; they were doing just that as we drove along.

Common Adder's-tongue, Ophioglossum vulgatum. Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

Another of my anxieties was soon put to rest, as all our cars fitted into the small car park when we arrived where we were greeted with the glorious sight of a sea of yellow buttercups which promised the orchids should be in flower.

Marden Meadow is situated on Wealden Clay to the south-east of Maidstone and close to Staplehurst in the heart of Kent. The Kent Wildlife Trust owns and manages Marden Meadow, which today consists of three meadows totalling seven hectares. The old part of the reserve is notable for becoming a purple carpet of several thousand Green-winged Orchids in May. It is one of the best remaining traditional haymeadows in Kent. It was extended in 1999 and since that time hay and seeds from the old meadow are being spread on the new areas which had been "improved" in the past with fertilisers.

Pink and white forms of Green-winged Orchid, Anacamptis morio. Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

The hay is cut in late July-August and then grazed by sheep. The meadows are framed by hawthorn hedges and trees, so that they are a cameo of times past until Eurostar races past along the northern border and brings us back abruptly to the 21th century.

Small Yellow Underwing, Panemeria tenebrata, with Greater Stitchwort, Stellaria holostea, in the background. Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

Visitors are encouraged to walk in single file around the edge of the meadows. We hadn't gone far when we started spotting orchids in full flower and it became clear we were going to be lucky. It was a very nostalgic day for Graham Hemington as it reminded him of the meadows on his father's farm in the 1930s. Graham turned in a list of 26 different plants which will be given to the recorder.

Amongst the special plants for which the reserve is noted, there were a number of robust plants of Hemlock Water-dropwort, Oenanthe crocata just coming into flower. At the other end of the scale we found a few tiny plants of Adder's-tongue, Ophioglossum vulgare. We had to look hard to find these as they were surprisingly small considering the wet season; there are reputed to be several thousand on the reserve.

Water-violet, Hottonia palustris, with Water Plantain, Alisma plantago-aquatica, and Water Mint, Mentha aquatica. Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

Hay Rattle, Rhinanthus sp., which weakens grass and is a valuable constituent of ancient grassland was also difficult to find as plants were still small. Dyer's Greenweed, Genista tinctoria, and Pepper Saxifrage, Silaum silaus, were also present in good numbers.

Pausing under the Wild Service Tree it was particularly pleasing to see several plants of Water Violet, Hottonia palustris, in the pond as they had disappeared for a while.

Bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum, with pollinia of the Green-winged Orchid, Anacamptis morio.
Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

At this pond we were treated to the purring of the Turtle Dove, one of the few places in Kent where its presence can be almost guaranteed. I was confident we would also hear the cuckoo but it seems we just missed it. Nonetheless there was plenty of birdsong.

A few yards beyond the pond I had an exciting moment when I spotted a bumblebee on a spike of Bugle with orchid pollinia on its head. It is rare to see this and John and I had failed to get a photograph on previous visits. I summoned Bill Welch urgently and he managed to get a very pleasing photo just as the bee dropped amongst some grass. He later identified it from his photographs as Bombus pascuorum.

Weevil, Curculio species.
Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.

These orchids have no nectar and are floral cheats that deceive pollinators that are usually naive, inexperienced bees searching for food that are attracted by the colour and scent of the flowers.

There were far fewer insects than would normally be found on a sunny day in May; probably an indication of the poor season. Graham listed six species, including St Mark's Fly, Bibio marci, which is a seasonal feature. Bill Welch found it was worth persevering with the flowers of Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, as they were attracting a variety of insects, especially hoverflies, various other flies and solitary bees.

It may have been Marion Pettett who spotted the Drinker Moth larva, Philudoria potatoria, and the delightful weevil with a very long proboscis, Curculio sp.

Two moths were recorded: Glyphipterix fuscoviridella and the Small Yellow Underwing, Panemeria tenebrata. Other species recorded included Peacock Butterfly, Aglais io, Azure Damselfly, Coenagrion puella, and a cluster of Glistening Inkcap fungi, Coprinellus micaceus. Before we completed the walk we also saw some of the pink and white varieties of Green-winged Orchid, which were present in smaller numbers that usual.

Five different hoverflies on a Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata. From left to right: an Epistrophe species; Eristalis pertinax;
Helophilus pendulus; Myathropa florea; and a Platycheirus species.   Marden Meadow, 25 May 2013.