1891
April 2
No 4
Mass
Ipswich. - beach. The majority were Sheldrake (mergus
serrator), the males in full plumage. There
were also a good many Black Ducks and a few
White winged Coots.
[margin]Sheldrake
Black Ducks
Coots[/margin]
  On the way to the boat across the sand hills
by the river I started a Short-eared Owl which
rose fully 100 yds. off and flew out of sight. It
was doubtless the survivor of the three seen this
morning. On reaching the boat we started at 
once for town where we arrived at 4 P.M. taking
the 6 o'clock train for Boston.
[margin]Sh.eared Owl[/margin]
  Although no Ipswich Sparrows were seen to-day and
Shore-Larks only heard once the sand-hills were
everywhere marked with the tracks of both species.
As there has been no rain for over a week it is
probable that most if not all of these tracks were
made several days ago and that the flight of
both birds has passed.
[Absence of
Ipswich 
Sparrows[/margin]
  Besides the tracks of birds the sand had recorded
the wanderings, during the past week, of hosts of
mice & skunks.  Near the light-house rats had
rambled about freely and cats and dogs had
followed them. In one place we found a rabbit
(L. sylvaticus) track, the only one that I remember
to have ever seen on the Ipswich sand-dunes.
It led out among the hills from one of the
willow & wild rose thickets already described. 
In two places near ponds a musk rat*[muskrat] had
registered the unmistakeable [delete]mark[/delete] grove[groove?] of his
trailing tail between the broad, claw-tipped
foot prints. One of their tracks wound about
[margin]Tracks in
the sand[/margin]