1892
July 15
(No 3)
Concord, Massachusetts.
[margin]Roost of √√[tick marks]
Red wings[/margin]
Mass.
Concord.- I took tea in my cabin and twilight
was deepening when I started up river. As I approached
the Beaver Dam Rapid I heard a number of Red-wings
singing together in the tall canary grass on the north
bank the effect being precisely the same as when these
Blackbirds first arrive in early spring and greet the
brown fields with a jingling medley from the top of
some isolated oak or maple. I heard them singing
thus & in the same place on the evening of J[blank space] but
on that occasion there were only adult males and not
above a dozen of them in all. To-night when I stopped
opposite the reeds and struck the water sharply with
the flat of my paddle at least 500 birds rose with
a noise as of wind blowing through tree tops. The greater
number were evidently females and young but there
were many old males. As they circled in a great
dusky cloud I heard the clear whistle of a Cow-bird
among them and there may have been a good many
individuals of the latter species in the flock. Barn
and Bank Swallows were also [delete]among them[/delete] mingled
with the dusky horde but these (the Swallows) may
have joined the Blackbirds after they rose although I think at
[delete]they too[/delete] least a few Swallows were roosting in the reeds.
  Only a few of the Blackbirds returned to the
starting point the majority breaking up into smaller
flocks and scattering. I flushed one such detachment
afterwards from a bed of grass higher up the river

  Mosquitos were very numerous and annoying this
evening [delete]&]/delete] A cloud of them followed me the
whole of the way to the Buttricks' landing.