1893
June 25
Andover, Conn.

Sunday                 Cloudy with rain in P.M.

Faxon took a rather long walk up river in the
forenoon but saw nothing new except a Red - shouldered Hawk
which flew over him screaming. 

In the afternoon we started out together and
crossing the river a little below the house entered an
extensive wood which covered a gently - sloping but
very rocky hillside. these woods contained the usual variety
of deciduous trees but they were chiefly composed of
shill bark hickories which in many places were crowded
thickly together and grew as straight & tall as so many
young pines. the ground was covered with a
profusion of ferns of various species among which the
maidens hair fern was represented by large numbers of
fine specimens.

There were comparatively few birds & a Red eye or two,
a Creeper, two Redstarts , several F [?], a White eye Vireo
a Ruffed grouse (drumming) & a Red - tailed hawk.

The Red - tail , a large female, evidently had young for she                                      
followed us about keeping  on ahead at times, then doubling
past us wire allowing us to get quite within shot gun range.
She uttered continuously, at short regular intervals, a husky,
tremendous scream resembling somewhat the ordinary scream of
Blue Jay but more prolonged and having a peculiar braying
quality which suggested the whinning of a horse. this sound
became positively annoying after we had heard it a few dozen
times. There was something about it that rasped on the
nerves - a de?, choking cry quite unworthy of so stately a bird.
[margin]Red - tailed hawk with young[/margin]