1890
July 2
Muskegat Island, Mass.
Cloudy most of the day the sun shining dimly at times in P.M.
Dense fog most of the morning. Wind fresh from S.E.
  I came to Edgartown yesterday reaching Capt. Osborne's house at 8 P.M.
Intended to start for Muskegat at sunrise this morning but the
fog was so dense that Mr. Pease, my boatman, did not get me off
before about 10 A.M. We ran down the bay to Cape Pogue very quickly
seeing nothing of interest save three Sheldrake (M.serrator) standing
erect on the beach. A mile outside the Cape we met the first
Petrels (D. oceanica). During the trip across 5 or 6 were seen.
  For more than half the way the fog was so thick that we could not 
see one 1/4 to 1/4 a mile yet a steady flight of Terns was passing
continually each bird steering as straight for Muskegat as if he
carried a compass in the end of his bill. They flew close to the
water. There were many single birds which could not have been
guided by the flight of others as no others were in sight.
When a little more than half-way across the fog cleared and we
made out Tuckernuck and then Muskegat. We laid our course across
close-hauled but on reaching N.E. Point had to tack a few times
to get around. John R. Sandsbury, a fisherman who is spending the
summer on the island, was hauling his lobster traps near our
anchorage and set us on shore in his dory.
  Leaving my luggage at his house I at once started out keeping
around the edge of the little bay that notches the east side of
the island and looking for Sharp-tailed Finches. I soon found
what seemed to be a large colony for I started a dozen 
or more in the space of two or three acres. There was plenty of
the short, dead grass in which they like to nest, both along the
shore and about some brackish ponds but I did not really
look for nests at all carefully and found none. Started a
Black Duck from the edge of the sedge & saw several Night
Herons, five adult birds. Spotted Sandpipers & Savanna Sparrows