Lake Umbagog, Maine.
1895
Sept. 28
  Cloudless with a strong N. to N.W. wind during the forenoon,
the Lake calm from 2 P.M. to sunset. Ther. 38[degrees] at sunrise.
  Shortly after breakfast we were electrified by the sound of
"Sea-ducks" in the air the wild, [delete]jingling,[/delete] musical, sleigh bell
jingle which has given these water fowl the name of Sleigh bell
Ducks in this region. They were apparently passing high over
Pine Point but no one of us saw them until ten or fifteen
minutes later when Jim, by the aid of my glass, discovered the
flock, in the water at their favorite alighting place off
B. Brook Point. Hastily cutting a few bushes & standing
them up in the bows of the Camp hunting boat we started
after them. They rose & flew about twice before we got
near them but at length we paddled down on them
from the windward. They rose when we were still over
100 yards off & came straight for us in a line at least
200 feet in length or rather width for they were all flying
abreast. I dropped one with each barrel as they passed & a
third fell a few hundred yards off. All three were old
birds.
[margin]Large flock of
Am. Scoters
I shoot
three of
them.[/margin]
  We followed them about all the forenoon & I got two more
shots but very distant ones for they were very shy birds.
I killed only one more. There were at least 75 birds in
the flock. All were Butter-birds (Oidemia americana) & at
least 90 % were old (ie black) males. There was a
smaller flock (some 15 or 12 birds), all females or young, which
kept apart from the big flock & were so very shy that
we could not get within 200 yards of them.
  As we were returning to camp at noon we saw a flock of about 30
Canada Geese. They passed over B. Brook Cove and thence due south over the
highest peak of Speckled Mountain without rising appreciably!
[margin]Canada
Geese[/margin]