Therfield Heath

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Whilst searching on line for butterfly hot spots in Cambridgeshire I stumbled across a Hertfordshire site and suddenly realised that Therfield Heath near Royston was actually only a 25 minutes easy drive from home.  So today being hot and sunny I decided to pop over and see what I could spot.

 

Therfield Heath is largely used as a golf course so I took a chalky looking path around the edge, I was disappointed when all I saw were a couple of whites but decided I would just enjoy the walk over the heath and the clear views all around. On the way back  I suddenly saw a tiny flutter of blue and watched for a few minutes until it settled but its wings were quickly closed which didn't help much with identification.  As I watched, it spread its rather tatty looking wings and I managed a quick but rather blurry photo before it flew off, However, this was enough to positively identify it as a Chalkhill Blue for which Therfield Heath is apparently a hotspot. Soon after I saw a tiny brown / orange looking butterfly but again when landed its wings were closed,   it resembled a small Meadow Brown but on closer look I identified it as a Small Heath. So worth the little trip as I hadn't seen either species before.

 

I think I will try to visit another time but earlier in the season.

 

 Therfield Heath
 
 Small Heath
 
Chalkhill Blue
 

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