17 
Concord, Mass.
1898
March 18
(No 2)
stood on the edge of the water and at the
southern extremity of Davis's Hill I found three
of these animals similarly employed. Two of them 
were in a tree that was entirely surrounded by
water and so far from shore that I thought at
first that they must have reached it by swimming;
but as I approached they galloped at full speed 
along a horizontal branch and leaped across a
space fully six feet in width to the end of a
long branch that stretched out from one of the
trees on the shore only just catching the slender
terminal twigs with their fore paws but quickly
raising themselves by these and gaining the upper
side of the branch. It was a remarkably clever
feat for such comparatively heavy animals.
  On reaching the lower end of Davis's Hill I saw
several flocks of Ducks swimming near the middle
of the river between Birch Island and Carlisle
Bridge. They proved to be all Golden-eyes and
rather more than half were old drakes. I counted
32 birds when they rose which they did the
moment my canoe came in full sight although
I was more than half-a-mile away but after
circling high in air they alighted again further
off. By keeping close in shore behind points &
islands I got within one quarter of a mile the
next time. When they went off down river &
I saw no more of them.
  I landed at Swift's shore and walked