1888
Nov. 15
Ipswich, Massachusetts.
  Warm (ther 57[degrees]) and cloudy with heavy rain storm beginning
about 10 A. M. and lasting into the night. Wind S. W., moderate.
  To Ipswich with Spelman & Denton by 7.30 A. M. train.
Took a boat of Stone as usual and pulled down to
the sand-hills making the distance very quickly as
the tide was ebbing strongly in our favor.
  Found many Horned Larks on the pebble banks and
shot eight ot ten. Then began beating the sand-hills
for Sparrows. Started seven or eight and killed all but
one. Later in the day shot three more on the same
ground seeing two of them come in over the sea. I
killed seven in nine shots, all flying.
  Very soon after we entered the sand-hills it began to
rain and during the remainder of the day shower
followed shower in quick succession. At times it
fairly poured but having rubber boots & coats we kept
on until three o'clock when we started back for town.
  After leaving the sand-hills we visited the great hill
to the south. The ploughed field held a few Horned
Larks but not above twenty were seen altogether on all
parts of the hill. On the eastern ridge there was
an immense flock of Snow Buntings feeding on the
green turf - fully two hundred birds. Several of them
looked like adult males in breeding plumage but
I could not shoot one of these for the scattered birds
forming the outer circle would rise and give the alarm.
I shot three young birds when the flock departed.
Shortly afterwards I came on a smaller flock. As they
rose and wheeled once close over the turf I distinctly
made out a single Lapland Longspur among them.
Keeping my eye on him after the[delete]y[/delete] flock alighted again
[margin]P. nivalis[/margin]
[margin]P. lapponicus[/margin]