1890
July 18
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Cape Pogue Pond to Great South Pond.
Clear and warm. Wind N.E. to E. very strong at times.
  Rose at 6 A.M. & after getting breakfast made another
tour of the colony of Terns. Found a young bird nearly
full grown but unable to fly hiding among the beach grass
and took several photographs of him. A Pair of Piping Plover
evidently with young followed me about one of them
fluttering and rolling about on the sand, imitating the 
struggles of a wounded bird so graphically that a number 
of the sympathetic Terns hovered overhead.
  Packing all my things into the canoe I started for
a tour of inspection of the pond. I paddled nearly up
to the light-house following the shore closely. Saw a
good many Piping Plover, one pair accompanied by young
two-thirds grown which scuttled back into the beach grass
as I approaced*[approached]. I landed & tried to find one of them
but failed. They looked whiter than the old birds & seemed
to have much down still remaining among the sprouting
feathers. I also saw two Sheldrake (serrator) which were
lying on the dry sand near the shore. They allowed
me to get within 25 yds. before they flew. One had 
a crippled wing apparently for it flapped along 100
yds or more without getting fairly on wing & finally,
on reaching the water, dove.
  Near the light-house I saw a single Bank Swallow
& a small flock of Least Sandpipers. I made a quick 
run under sail around the E. side of the pond
passing a Greater Yellow-leg which was standing on
a mud flat in the middle of a little pool.
I then sailed directly out of the pond and 
started for Edgartown keeping well in shore for
there was a heavy sea running in the open bay