1893
May 10
(No 5)
Concord, Mass.
  Twilight was falling when I started for home.
I sailed nearly half way beating up against the
gentle breeze which now came from the west & south west.
A Solitary Sandpiper flew high over-head weeting.
The clamor of Hylas & Toads was almost deafening.
Musk rats were out in force. I saw three and heard
several others uttering their peculiar murmur. This sound
ordinarily so low and subdued carries well when the
air is still for I heard it distinctly to-night across the
broadest past of Great Meadow - half-a-mile wide at the
very least.
[margin]Evening on
the river[/margin]
  I saw two Snakes, one Black one Striped, swimming well
out on the meadows. The Black Snake moved very rapidly
& gracefully carrying his head high out of water.
  It is evident from what I have seen that a large
number of migrants arrived yesterday and a much larger
number this morning. Indeed it is quite safe to conclude
that to-day has been one of the great flight days of
the season. All the conditions were favorable and the
birds have come with a rush. Probably most of those
bound further north will go on to-night but their
places should be more than filled by additional
arrivals from the south. The night is perfect for
migrations, as warm as midsummer, the sky
without a cloud, a gentle S. W. wind. Yet I did not
hear a single bird in the air as I crossed the 
Great Meadow. Why is it that we hear them at
night so much less often & numerously in spring
than in autumn? Perhaps they fly at a greater height!
[margin]Great rush
of migrants[/margin]