1892
April 15
Concord, Massachusetts.
Mass.
Concord.. A grey day with N. E. wind changing to S. &
S. W. later in P.M. Ther. 38[degrees] at 6 a,m, 50[degrees] at noon.
  Started for Ball's Hill at 10 a.m. taking my 
Rob Roy canoe. Stopped at Hunt's landing to 
get some roots of the yellow iris which grows
there in profusion, thanks to [?] Pratt, and
which I wished to introduce at Ball's Hill.
  The paddle down against the strong N. E. wind was
laborious and hot particularly in [?]. I saw 
nothing but the common birds. At my landing 
a single Fox Sparrow was flitting about in the bushes
and on the back side of the hill, among some ferns,
I started a Hermit Thrush, the first I have seen.
I set out my iris, and some hepaticas, spring beauties, 
Black & yellow birches which I had of Mrs. Rett.
  At 3.30 P.M. I started to sail home. The wind
had died to a gentle breeze but enough remained
to waft me slowly up stream so that I used 
the paddle only a few times between the two
landings.Opposite Benson's landing I heard Muskrats
in the bushes keeping up a steady murmur. I think
1 pair were mating there but I could see nothing.
  As I was passing Dakin's Hill a [male] Red Crossbill came
flying from the pines & alighting in a maple
uttered a soft musical spee, spee, spee-dink many
times in succession. Is this the song? The [female] must 
be sitting on eggs now.
[margin]Red Crossbills
singing[/margin]
  At the "[?]" I saw a pair of Bitterns flying over the 
meadows & a little further up a Snipe which rose
apparently without provocation from the meadows on
the right & crossed the river. Many shots fired this 
afternoon in the direction of [?] Meadow, probably at Snipe