1894
Sept. 9
Lake Umbagog, Maine.
  Morning cloudy & threatening; afternoon sunny and very warm with
dense haze obscuring the mountains & the further shores of the
Lake.
  As I was taking my morning bath I heard with perfect
distinctness and repeated a dozen times or more the plaintive
whistle of a Black-bellied Plover. The bird seemed to be
circling high over the Point but I did not see him.
  A Flicker "shouted" several times in succession near the camp
and a Loon called repeatedly out on the 
  Soon after breakfast a flock of 32 Black Ducks passed
the camp and alighted close in shore near Richardson's Carry.
Jim and I started at once in pursuit of them. We rowed
across to the outlet, paddled down the river to the carry a
little below which I landed and crawled on hands & knees
across the flats through the grass. Raising my head a little
I saw a swarm of Ducks swimming about two gun-shots
off. The next instant three Ducks, which I had not seen
but which must have been within easy range, rose and came
directly for me. I was lying in a cramped position & on
rising succeeded only in firing one barrel - and missing with [delete]at[/delete] that.
  We then paddled through Leonard's Pond where we started
five Wood Ducks and saw two Eagles (one a fine old bird)
and four Solitary Sandpipers. One of the Eagles (as we supposed
- we did not actually see him in the act) kept uttering
a shrill squealing not unlike that of a Duck Hawk bit
slower & more disconnected.
[margin]Haliaetus
leucocephalus[/margin]
  On the island in Leonard's Pond we heard first the
crack of a breaking branch and then a prolonged, hoarse
slightly quavering cry which I at once recognized as that
of a Bear. We turned back & searched for but did not see him.
[margin]Bear.[/margin]