1890
May 13
Cambridge, Mass.
I noticed no flowers except a few violets.
  I passed a very delightful forenoon shooting
a few birds and finding (in the meadow between
the Maple Swamp & the Fitchburg R.R.*[)] no less than
five Swamp Sparrows' nests with eggs. Of course I
looked for them - indeed spent an hour or more
searching closely - but they were absurdly easy to 
find for all but one were in bunches of dry grass
of last year's growth and these bunches were not
numerous enough to make it at all difficult to
inspect them all. 
I did not cross the main Fitchburg tracks but after
beating the North Meadow turned back through the
Maple Swamp and thence home by way of the
Brickyard Swamp. In the tall maples I started a
brown Night Heron and found a Flicker's nest
in which the bird [delete]was[/delete] at work attracted my 
attention by its hammering as I was brushing
hastily past. I waited, vainly, until my patience
was exhausted, for the bird to come to the hole with
a load of chips of which great numbers strewed
the ground beneath but he went on pounding
inside until I rapped on the trunk when he 
came out in a great haste.
  In the Brickyard Swamp I heard Yellow Warblers,
Maryland Yellow-throats, Red-wings, a Cat-bird,
Song Sparrows (no Swamps) and one Virginia Rail.
There were no less than four Least Flycatchers in
the big willows at the eastern end of this swamp.
Robins were numerous all over the opening, feeding 
on the ground. The steam shovel has made 
[?] inroads since my last visit.