1890
March 7
Merritt's Island, Florida
Banana Creek, Florida 1890.
Clear and cool; wind N. to N.E.
  Left Titusville at 8 a.m. with Mr & Mrs Cory in
the little steamer "Canavual". About the wharves in
Titusville were over a hundred Scaup ducks swimming
fearlessly within a few yards of boats and men
at work on the piers. They are not molested here.
Crossing Indian River we saw very few water fowl
certainly not over five hundred Scaups and less
than one hundred Coots besides two or three
cormorants. As we entered Banana Creek
we found Coots in immense beds but fewer
Scaups than last year. The Coots became more
numerous as we advanced and in all we
certainly saw over a million. One flock covered
about twenty acres & must have contained
one hundred thousand birds. As the steamer
disturbed them fairly filled the air and actually
obstructed the view. They reminded me most of
swarms of flies each bird rising and flying 
independently so that myrids*[myriads] were darting about 
us in every directions[direction]. While watching such a 
swarm I was amazed to see a Coot fall
vertically into the water making the spray fly
as it struck and lying for a moment on its
back with feet kicking in the air. I looked
at it through the glass & saw that it was badly
hurt. The next instant the mystery was 
explained for my eye caught a second Coot
beginning to descend in the clutches of a 
Duck Hawk. The two fell together for a few 
yards when the Hawk loosed his hold
and the Coot struck the water precisely in