1891
May 17
(no 3)
Afternoon on Rock Meadow.
Mass.
Belmont - the great pollarded willows betrayed the nest
which held three eggs at which we peeped for a
moment before passing on. A much more interesting
find was the nest of a Song Sparrow in a hole in
another of these willows. I saw the bird fly from the
tree and soon discovered the nest. The hold was just 
such an one as a Bluebird might choose, a natural
opening where a branch had rotted out and the
bark grown around the edges (for the tree was living)
The opening was not over two inches in diameter
but inside the cavity was perhaps as large as my 
two fists. The nest a very neatly-finished structure of
dry grass lined with horse-hair; was sunk in the 
rotten wood at the bottom six or eight inches back
from the entrance and about two inches below it.
One side of the opening was covered with a growth
of some round-leafed, light green plant. There were 
five eggs. I have rarely seen a prettier nest than this.
[margin]Robin's nest[/margin]
[margin]Song Sparrow's nest in a hole[/margin]
  On first entering the Willows we heard the Bittern
jumping but owing to the high wind could not
locate him definitely. At a venture we decided to 
go around to the west side of the meadow & look
for him there. As we were following the wall that
separates the marsh from the rising ground beyond
we saw a pair of Black Ducks. They came from
the middle of the meadow and rising above
the wooded hill to the west disappeared in the
direction of Sherman's Pond.
[margin]Bittern[/margin]
[margin]Black Ducks[/margin]
[deleted]We found one Bittern and[/deleted] After the meeting
with the flock of Crows, already described, we