1891
March 25
(No. 3)
foot following the old lane down to the edge
of the great birch cover which we at once entered.
A Bluebird was singing and a Red-Shouldered
Hawk, which we had previously seen soaring 
high over the meadows, screaming and dashing
about the oak woods on the hill to the westward.
  On reaching the brook we followed its banks for
some distance as they afforded an easy and attractive
path the bushes having been cut away for a yard
or two on each side. We soon picked up a Spotted 
Turtle the entire fleshy parts of which excepting the
tail had been scooped out without the slightest
injury to the shell inside which absolutely nothing
remained but a coating of damp, black earth.
The tail, including the arms, was untouched and
was so fresh as to indicate that the animal had
been killed this morning. What bird or mammal
could have done this? A Crow or a Weasel?
The ground where the shell lay was too hard to
show tracks & we could find no clue to the 
mystery. 
  A few yards further on I discovered a [Soldier?]
Turtle half concealed in the mud on the bottom
of the brook. It was alive and in good condition
but sluggish after its long hibernation. No others
of this species were seen but the Spotted Turtles
proved to be out in force for we saw upwards 
of twenty in going a few hundred yards. They
were usually sunning themselves on the mud a
foot or two from the water into which they
plumped as we approached and going to the