Erie Canal - Manlius Center to Poolsbridge

May 24th, the second leg of our Erie Canal Trail trek. What started out as a quiet day for wildlife changed into a veritable smorgasbord of fauna! We saw a Baltimore oriole, catbird (across the canal, hence the blurriness), an Eastern towhee -- colorful!, great blue heron, and what I think is a Great Crested flycatcher. The canal itself was teeming - perch, sunfish, turtles, carp, and I think some trout although one wonders how they liked the stagnant, green, weedy water. This was a long leg of the trail - almost 8 miles round trip and that last mile was a killer! I haven't been so happy to see civilization in a long time. Next hike: Poolsbridge to Chittenango.