Afternoon on Rock Meadow
1891
May 17
(no 2)
Mass.
Belmont. - Skirting its edge and watching an
listening awhile we kept on down the road to
the hollow near the Cotton farm. There was nothing
here but a Redstart so we crossed the field to the
Willows. On the way we saw a flock of 12 Crows which
came from Rock Meadow and passed out of sight
to the northward flying in a compact body as if
migrating, three more straggled after them a moment
later. I am confident that none of them returned
yet we found no less than 20 in our small field on
the S.west side of the meadow half-an-hour afterwards.
They rose all together as we showed ourselves over the
crest of a knoll and went off together in a close 
branch. The ground when they started was close-
cropped pasture but [deleted]there were many[/deleted] the numerous little mounds
or hillocks in regular rows showed that it had once
been a cow field. The sod was broken and crumbling
on the tops & sides of these hillocks and the earth
beneath full of earth-worms. The Crows may have
been eating these but surely something more than
this attraction is necessary to explain the remarkable 
abundance of the birds in this locality, at all times
of the day and year.
[margin]Crows in flocks[/margin]
  On entering the Willows we began to hear and  
see a few Yellow Warblers, Song & Swamp Sparrows
and Cat birds but the cold wind swept through
the long vista pitilessly and there was little
singing. We heard one Bobolink on the meadow
and started a Green Heron (the first that I
have seen or heard of this year) from a pool
by the roadside. A Robin flying from one of
[margin]Birds in the Willows[/margin]
[margin]Green Heron[/margin]