Ball's Hill.
1891.
Nov. 13
Concord, Massachusetts.
Concord. - Clear with moderately strong N.W. wind and
cooler temperature.
  To Ball's Hill by boat this morning, George Carroll
accompanying me. We saw nothing on the way down
save a few Tree Sparrow and a very fine adult
Red-shouldered Hawk which rose from the ground
in a field alighted in a grove of pitch pines.
I[t] was perhaps the same individual observed yesterday.
Shortly after landing on Ball's Hill I heard the
pip of a Red Crossbill and looking up saw a
single bird start from a pitch pine on the 
brow of the hill and fly off. It is the first
that I have noted [deleted]of[/deleted] this autumn in this
neighborhood but Faxon found them on Graylock
in large numbers in October.
[margin]Red Crossbill[/margin]
  I spent the day on Ball's Hill cutting paths
and trees which interfered with one another while
George completed the boat landing. Late in
the afternoon a single shot was fired beyond
the woods on the Bedford shore and half an
hour afterwards Quail began calling in
about the same place as yesterday. They
must have been shot into and scattered again
but this time the sportsman apparently 
did not follow them.
  We came up the rim between sunset and
dark seeing several Musk rats. The sunset
was remarkably fine. The wind went down
with the sun and the rim was perfectly
calm. It is curious that I hear no Owls
these still moonlight evenings.