1892
June 20
Concord, Massachusetts.
[margin]Ball's Hill[/margin]
Mass.
Concord.- Clear and warm with high, gusty N.W.
wind.
  Yesterday I heard a Chipping Sparrow sing, the
first for some time. This morning one in the
trees near our house sang at frequent intervals and
with full vigor during the entire morning up to
11 a.m. when I started for Ball's Hill.
  I sailed down and saw nothing worth noting on
the way. Soon after reaching my house I lunched
and then started for a walk. I had gone only a
few rods to the eastward of my house when I
saw a large brown bird coming across the river
flying low over the water. At first I took it for
a female Marsh Hawk but as it passed within
20 yds. of me and skimmed around the eastern
base of the hill I saw that it was a Short-eared
Owl. A little beyond where I lost sight of it I
heard a Song Sparrow chirping anxiously and on
reaching the spot started the Owl from a cluster
of birches where it must have perched at least
15 ft above the ground. It was soon lost to
sight behind the trees. I saw one of these
birds flying over the Great Meadows in May last.
[margin]Short-eared
Owl[/margin]
  Visited the Red-eyed Vireo's nest & found three eggs;
no bird seen or heard even. The female Grosbeak
was sitting on her nest at 2 P.M. and the
male singing near my cabin at 4 P.M. so it
seems that they do not divide the day into
"watches" as I had thought possible.
[margin]Vireo's Nest[/margin]
[margin]♀[female] Grosbeak
sitting[/margin]
  While I was looking at the Vireo's nest I heard
a bird chirping anxiously in the bushes on