PUXTON Marsh is now entering its seventh year as a nature reserve looked after by Wyre Forest District Council.

For many of these years, the site has been home to a herd of cattle that munch on the various plants, increasing the biodiversity of the reserve.

Initially, the extent to which the site was covered in Himalayan balsam was used to judge the success of these four-legged volunteers.

Rather rapidly though, their taste for this invasive plant meant that its stranglehold on this nature reserve has been completely broken.

The management success indicator then changed to the number of southern marsh orchids that flower on the reserve. This started off in the teens, but has increased, particularly last year when the number hit the 50 mark. This year, initial signs were very disappointing with just half a dozen being seen at the start of June.

However, the wonderful warm June weather helped me to forget what atrociously poor spring weather we'd had and that most of our wildlife was still running late. So when the site was resurveyed on June 12 my despair turned to joy as some 85 orchids were seen flowering. The cows had not lost their touch. As well as the joy of knowing the wildlife was continuing to improve, the southern marsh orchids were a pleasure to behold.

At this time of year, the reserve is quite colourful in places. Of particular note are the banks of yellow flag iris and the strands of lovely purple ragged robin. All of this beauty fails to compare, though, when you look at just one orchid.

Southern marsh orchids are the most appealing deep pink colour, which just seem to draw you in for a closer look. They appear as a cone of flowers up to 50cm tall either singly or in small groups of threes or fours. At 50cm tall they usually protrude from the surrounding sward, but this year's late flowering meant that they are much more in the thick of it.

The thing with all orchids is that, although they are impressive from a distance, it is only when they have drawn you in closer that you get that `wow' feeling.

There may well be in excess of 30 individual flowers on just one flower spike. A closer look reveals each flower appears to have a strange petal arrangement, which makes them look almost butterfly-like with colourful wings and a patterned abdomen.

If you peer into them you'll see that they look more like the interior of an alien spaceship than a flower. Rather than to fascinate us, these intricate shapes and patterns are all there to attract would-be pollinating insects.