Orchid final? total

I haven't seen any fresh Orchids to count in the last few days so this may be the final total for the year. However Broad-leaved Helleborines are down in number and I still have vague hopes that a few more might appear. This dry spell probably won't encourage them however. All in all it's been a reasonable year and the trend of increasing Orchid numbers year on year is maintained. The overall total is 810 Orcids which is a 5% increase on 2021. This is tiny compared to the 148% increase last year but there does seem to be a pattern of large increases followed by much smaller increases in numbers. In 2018 numbers rose 59% and in 2019 by 5% for example. The good news is the appearance of a Greater Butterfly Orchid for the first time. The downside this year has been the destruction of unprotected flowering Orchids by Deer which has reached unprecedented levels. However I have a plan to counteract this next year!