1892
Oct. 23
Concord, Massachusetts.
Mass.
Concord. A sunny day but the sky half filled with
wind clouds and a violent, rather cold N. W. wind
blowing until after sunset when it died wholly.
  Spent the day at Ball's Hill when I received & dined
Mr. & Mrs. Melvin, Mr. Robbins & his son.
  I sailed down in my canoe Mr. Herbert Holden keeping 
along with me in his canoe. He tells me that George Holden
shot eight Partridges one day last week & his two companions
bagged enough Quail & Woodcock to make the total for the
three just nineteen birds. The largest bag of Snipe known
to him is eight birds, killed by Jones. He also tells me that
a few weeks ago he started a flock of fully 25 Carolina 
Doves from a sandy field in Lincoln.
[margin]Some bags of game birds[/margin]
[margin]Flock of Doves[/margin]
  We found a Duck swimming in the river at the head
of the Holt. It rose at about 100 yards & flew down river.
An hour later what I took to be the same bird appeared
on the river directly opposite my cabin. It kept near but
outside the lily pads and fed about over an area of a few
square yards for an hour or more stretching its neck out nearly
level with the surface and swimming very slowly to & fro
frequently turning. It was of about the size of a Wood Duck
but the neck was much longer, the bill very long &
broad, the color brown like a female Scaup. When it flew
it cleared the surface with a single vigorous spring, like
a Teal. I could not identify it but I think that it
must have been a female Shoveller although I saw no
blue on the shoulders.
[margin]A Strange Duck[/margin]
  Saw two flocks of Titlarks wheeling over the meadows.
One contained fully 20 birds. Started a perfect cloud of
Juncos from Benson's field.