332
Concord, Mass.
1897
Nov. 17
  Forenoon clear, afternoon cloudy, clearing again
just before sunset. Much cooler than yesterday with
strong N.W. wind which died away completely, 
however, later in the afternoon.
  I spent the entire day on Davis's Hill with
Bensen and Pat wandering on the new wood roads.
Started two Partridges on the south end of the
hill this morning and saw a White-throated Sparrow
and a few Sparrows in a thicket on the edge of
the meadows. Chickadees were about all day
and I heard a Downy Woodpecker and a Creeper.
Crows and Jays are getting very scarce; I noted
only two of the former and one of the latter
during the day. Gilbert saw a Brown Marsh Hawk
in the afternoon.
  A rare piece of good fortune fell to my lot as
I was on my way back to the cabin this evening.
It was about five o'clock and twilight was fast
deepening although the afterglow in the west cast
a strong light on the larger open spaces. It was
perfectly still the wind having long since [delete]fallen[/delete] died
away. I was following the wood road that leads 
around the south end of Davis's Hill and had
nearly reached the brook when an Owl glided
close past me flying just above the tops of
the young oaks, & quickly disappearing in the 
gloom against a background of pines. I gave a
few low squeaks when it quickly reappeared &
[delete]began[/delete] passed and repassed low over my head a
[margin]Begin[/margin]
[margin]Long-eared
Owls[/margin]