An afternoon walk along the Grand Union Canal - June 17, 2013

I had decided to go for a walk along the Grand Union Canal from Newton Harcourt and as I arrived Dave was walking down the lane to do the same.  We walked east along the towpath for about a mile and then back again.  The vegetation alongside the canal had been pruned somewhat heavily, presumably by British Waterways, and as such had regrettably reduced the habitat for insects.

It was quite pleasant during the bright spells and there were a few damselflies on the wing and I had my first Banded Demoiselle and Red-eyed Damselflies of the year.

We also had a single Large White and Green-veined White butterflies.  Bird wise, not surprisingly, was rather quiet and most were heard rather than observed.  We spent most of the time identifying and photographing flowers both on the towpath and in an adjacent field.

Young Canada Geese

Red-eyed Damselfly

Banded Demoiselle

Changing Forget-me-not

Common Vetch

Cut-leaved Cransbill

Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil

Hemlock

Smooth Hawk's-beard

Tufted Vetch