1890
Oct.13
Lake Umbagog, Maine.
Cloudless and nearly perfectly calm all day. Very cold last night
but warm at noon with flies buzzing around the camp.
[margin]Cold night;
warm day.[/margin]
  At sunrise Jim discovered two flocks of Ducks in the Lake
off B.Brook Cove, 10 Greater Scaups composing one flock
and 6 American Scoters (Butter-bills) the other. We started
for them immediately after breakfast and chased them 
about all the forenoon. I killed three of the Scaups and
two old male Butter-bills, Melvin a pair of Butter-bills.
The Scaups joined the Scoters, repeatedly swimming and
flying with them.  They also went in shore once some
of them actually landing on the rocks and preening their
feathers. Both Scaups and Scoters were very shy &
we had to [bush?] our boats and paddle carefully
to get within shot of them.
[margin]Greater Scaups
Butter-bills[/margin]
  Came back to camp for lunch after which
M. started down the Lake to the Tyler Cover in
pursuit of a large flock of Scoters which Jim
discovered there. They proved to be Velvet Scoters, about
thirty in number all female & young. M. killed
seven of them and a [female] Surf Scoter which was
with them.
[margin]Large flock of
White-winged
Scoters.[/margin] 
  I spent an hour or more skinning birds and
then started out.  We had rowed only a few
hundred yards when a flock of 19 Velvet 
Scoters (not the flock M. had been shooting at) came
flying up the Lake low over the water in a
line at right angles to their course of flight.
As they passed me within 30 yds, I made a 
double shot getting both birds. We followed them but
did not get another good chance.
  After this we came upon the Scaup Ducks again
[margin]Greater Scaups[/margin]