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Hi All, Happy Thanksgiving, I was able to visit the French Basin walking trail and pond on both Sunday and Monday mornings this past weekend. The ducks were in good numbers and the full variety on both days, the numbers represent the greater number from either day, only pintail was see only on Monday; black (lots), mallard (lots), gadwall (6, 3 pairs), pintail (2 females, or eclipse male), am. wigeon (20+), shoveler (7, all female, very light colouring, no dark in the head or neck), blue wing teal (4, two pairs), green wing teal (lots+), ring neck (~60), wood (lots), canada goose (1). There were also at least five pied billed grebes, three dc cormorants, and two king fishers. Along the wooded areas were many, many (hundreds) yellow rumped warblers both days, one palm warbler Sunday, a few (~10)common yellow throats, fifty red winged black birds (Monday), red eyed vireo (1, Sunday), three cardinals (Sunday), lots of blue jays, cedar waxwings, robins and purple finches. Chickadees and golden crowned kinglets flitted in the trees along the south side. Sparrows were mostly song, a group of 8 - 10 white throated and five or six swamp in the vegetation along the pond edge. One immature marsh hawk coursed the edge on Monday. Two great blue herons on Sunday. I heard yellow legs calling on both days but didn't see them either time I was there. On Sunday there was one bird that I only watched briefly, a few seconds as it sat on a branch mostly concealed, as it flew to another perch and very briefly again as it sat before it flew. It was uniformly grey, had white on its tail, small or smaller than a warbler, small billed, and other than that very bland. It was not a junco (too small, not as plump, bill finer), the only bird that I could bring to mind was gnatcatcher, but I have only seen two others on the same occasion on Digby Neck a few years back. I am disappointed that I didn't see the bird longer to make a more definitive identification. This trail is certainly a great place to see waterbirds, and is quiet even though it is so close to town. I enjoyed the time I was there. George Forsyth
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