Handsacre

We've been moored here for a couple of days about 1/2 mile east of Handsacre, so I've had a bit of time for poking about.

We're on a small trimmed section of the bank between taller vegetation, with quite a varied range of plants at the water’s edge. These include Meadowsweet, Gipsywort, Common Nettle and Ribwort Plantain.
 

Meadowsweet



Meadowsweet fruit



Ribwort Plantain



Ribwort Plantain flower

Ribwort Plantain flower...again

 

Gipsywort























Beyond the grass path there is a bank of gorse with a few brambles, and oak trees of various sizes. The Gorse is the common variety & there are both Sessile & Pedunculate Oak, which is quite nice for the comparison, the Sessile having acorns with no stalks & the Pedunculate having long stalks.


Gorse (Ulex europaeus)




Cessile Oak



Pedunculate oak
















Whilst inspecting the gorse I found a weevil which looks very much like the Pea Weevil in my insect guide, which makes sense as the gorse is part of the legume family.

Pea Weevil - small bug, scary shadow!

The other bugs here have been in the boat rather than beside it! There was a female Common Earwig in the hatch, which got a bit frantic when it ended up on it's back in the pot

Common Earwig

Earwig trying to right itself

Several Crane Flies (Tipula oleracea) came on board both in the rear canopy and down below

Crane Fly (Daddy Long-legs)

Close-up Crane Fly

 

Daddy Long-legs spider minus a few legs!



A Daddy Long-legs spider wandered up Simon’s foot on the rear deck.

There have also been a few unidentified flies which I'll try & figure out:

?

?

And a spider which I think is probably a Zygiella x-notata, although I'm not sure:

Zygiella x-notata....maybe!

and again....

In the bird department there have been Mute Swans swimming past & a bunch of Mallards looking for crumbs by the hatch. They got some! There have been House Martins & Wood Pigeons hurtling about in the high winds.

Mallards after bread

Although not within Muriel’s 60 foot, I have also seen 2 Common Buzzards over the adjoining fields & a couple of interesting toadstools on the towpath, & a few Speckled Wood butterflies.