1886.                                                                           
(Oct.14)
Lake Umbagog, Maine.
  Then tried the meadow by the Stone farm and shot a single Snipe,
the only one seen. Lunched on B Point in a sheltered cove. Saw
an Eagle. Found tracks, about a week old, of a large Moose, on the
sand beach. Finished the day with a circuit of Great Island.
Saw only a Whistler, two large Ducks (probably Black Ducks) feed
ing inshore, a Kingfisher, a Great Blue Heron, and several flocks
of Robins feeding on the mud-flats.
[margin] Moose tracks 
on B Point.[/margin]
  Forgot to mention a short hunt for Woodcock on the hill be-
hind the house before starting. Flushed a single very large
bird four times. I got only one shot at him and missed.
Oct. 15
  Clear with strong north-west winds. Spent the forenoon on
the marsh where we flushed four Snipe, killing them all. After
dinner Melvin went up into the pasture and started [startled] two Woodcock,
killing one. After his return we drove to Morse's on Upton Hill
and beat the ground there, flushing six Woodcock along the brook
in a strip of alders only about fifty yards long by ten yards
wide. We killed five of these birds, but made rather bad shoot-
ing, missing several good shots.  Next drove to Bragg's on the
Andover road and finished there beating the alders about sunset,
having seen nothing but one grouse which Melvin killed. Spar-
rows are very numerous, Robins the same; heard one Flicker
[margin]Woodcock 
shooting.[/margin]
Oct. 16
  Cloudy and cold with almost a gale from the north-west and
frequent flurries of snow. We devoted the forenoon to the hill
behind the Lake House, beating for Woodcock. Birches blank.
Flushed two Cock in spruces by the Lake shore. I shot the first
but Melvin and I both missed the second. Melvin saw a mink.
  We went down river after dinner. Beat the marsh, but flush
ed only one Snipe which Melvin shot. Steve Morse came along and
reported the Lake full of Ducks. We started out at once, but
stopped to stalk two Black Ducks opposite the Stone farm. They
swam beyond a slough and Melvin then tried them in a boat, act-
ually paddling within fifty yards without cover and killing one.
  Next to B Point. The wind was moderating fast. Two bunch
es of Scoters off Great Island. Rowed out and around them. They
were very shy, but each bunch gave us a long flying shot and we
killed two birds from each, the first two O. americana, the last
two P. perspicallata. Probably each bunch was homogeneous. All
went out at dusk, flying restlessly from place to place, finally
rising high in the air.
[margin]Scoters[/margin]