1892
April 13
(No 2)
Concord, Massachusetts.
Mass.
Concord. - At 10 o'clock this morning I started for
Ball's Hill taking down in my boat a load of
willow stakes which I afterwards drove into
the mud in various places to make trees.
  Only a few birds were singing but I saw a
great many Blackbirds & several Song Sparrows
along the banks. The water has fallen to nearly
its normal summer level and the Great Meadows
are now almost entirely bare and already quite
green while the brook meadows are very green.
Thousands of Leopard Frogs were croaking but
I heard no other species of Batrachians during
the day.
  As I was passing the Holt a Red-shouldered
Hawk rose above the woods on Holden's hill
and mounted high into the air screaming, occasionally
pitching down in erratic lines and curves and then
soaring upwards again. Twice afterwards I saw
it at the same occupation. I suspect this is a
love performance. The bird was a [male]. I did not see its mate.
[margin]Buteo lineatus[/margin]
  Several species of our small native willows were in
full blossom to-day with honey bees clustering
thickly about their green or golden catkins.
  There was a Fox Sparrow in the brush on my river
front and several Yellow Palm Warblers on the hill &
in the swamp behind. In this swamp Pat Flannery
who is making a path for me saw yesterday a very
large wild Rabbit mottled with white. It was chasing
a Coney. The large animal was doubtless L. americanus
  As I came up the river late in the afternoon I started
a Bittern from the bank opposite Mr Hunts & saw a [male]
Marsh Hawk beating the meadows.