1890
June 13
Swampscott, Massachusetts.
Cloudy and cool with heavy rain and N.E. wind.
  To Swampscott by 3.50 train meeting W.A. Jeffries at the
station in Boston. On reaching Phillips Beach station we drove
directly to Mr. Jeffries' place where we changed our clothes, put 
on "oilers", and started out into the woods. A light rain
was falling and the bushes were dripping, of course, but we
were well protected and suffered little inconvenience, staying out
until nearly severn*[seven] o'clock. and walking perhaps two miles.
  Our way led down the avenue (where J. showed me a Hummer's
nest build on the slender branch of an [?], the bird darting
about) across the road, through a cedar pasture and a
piece of swampy maple woods where Wilson's Thrushes were
singing, across a meadow and a second road to a large
rocky hill covered with thickets of barberry, privet, blueberry etc.
with a garden honeysuckle running wild in places among
these bushes and in full blossom making a fine show
with its profusion of tubular, coral red flowers.
  There were several springy runs making their way down
narrow ravines in the sides of this hill and in one 
of these runs in a dense thicket of high blueberry, barberry
and privet mixed with greenbriar I saw my first Chat's
nest. We hard the [male] singing as we approached the place
and after nearly an hour's search Jeffries found the
nest with the [male] bird sitting on two young about 1/4 grown
& a rotten egg. He called to me but before I could get
to him the [male] started off and began flitting about us
coming very near but keeping well-hidden and making
a peculiar and very disagreeable call somewhat like the
meow of the cat-bird. The nest was near the middle
of a dense thicket of privet but was built in a slender
barberry bush at a height of about 4ft. We examined it