Woodwalton Marsh and Monks Wood
One advantage of lockdown is that I currently have no afternoon or evening commitments so my field trips are not restricted to the morning or a time to be home in the afternoon.
Another warm sunny day tempted me to look for some more meadow butterflies and I had read that there was a small reserve at Woodwalton just north of Huntingdon. I parked in a layby opposite the reserve which merely comprises a 2 acre strip of grassland sandwiched between a road and a railway line.
On entering I saw that the reserve was a mass of wildflowers with a few narrow paths that had been made amongst the grasses. I wasnt long before I saw a common blue and small heath and then I noticed a pair of Brimstone flying very close to each other before settling a number of times providing an ideal photoshoot which is not always easy with Brimstones. I also saw a tiny brown butterfly which when it landed, I could identify as a Brown Argus. I had heard there were skippers here but I didnt see any despite walking round the whole perimeter of the meadow.
On leaving the site I decided to stop and visit Monks Wood which was a few minutes away. Walking towards the gate I spoke to a gentleman with binoculars who said he had been looking for black hairstreak but hadnt seen any. I asked if he had seen any green hairstreak there but he told me I might find one at Woodwalton Marsh which of course was where I had just come from.
I only had a quick walk at Monks Wood just long enough to see a few speckled wood butterflies but I think this would be worth a longer visit in a months time. I decided to pop back to my previous site just on the off chance of finding a green hairstreak but the hawthorn trees were quite tall and all in the shade so I guess it would be better to search in a morning .
Another warm sunny day tempted me to look for some more meadow butterflies and I had read that there was a small reserve at Woodwalton just north of Huntingdon. I parked in a layby opposite the reserve which merely comprises a 2 acre strip of grassland sandwiched between a road and a railway line.
On entering I saw that the reserve was a mass of wildflowers with a few narrow paths that had been made amongst the grasses. I wasnt long before I saw a common blue and small heath and then I noticed a pair of Brimstone flying very close to each other before settling a number of times providing an ideal photoshoot which is not always easy with Brimstones. I also saw a tiny brown butterfly which when it landed, I could identify as a Brown Argus. I had heard there were skippers here but I didnt see any despite walking round the whole perimeter of the meadow.
On leaving the site I decided to stop and visit Monks Wood which was a few minutes away. Walking towards the gate I spoke to a gentleman with binoculars who said he had been looking for black hairstreak but hadnt seen any. I asked if he had seen any green hairstreak there but he told me I might find one at Woodwalton Marsh which of course was where I had just come from.
I only had a quick walk at Monks Wood just long enough to see a few speckled wood butterflies but I think this would be worth a longer visit in a months time. I decided to pop back to my previous site just on the off chance of finding a green hairstreak but the hawthorn trees were quite tall and all in the shade so I guess it would be better to search in a morning .
Woodwalton Marsh
Common blue
Small Heath
Pair of Brimstones
brown argus
brown argus
speckled wood
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