288
Concord, Mass.
1898.
October 21
  A clear sunrise but most of the day cloudy &
threatening but without rain.
  To the Barrett farm by way of Davis's Hill in the
forenoon. Started three Partridges in Prescott's pines & saw
two Hermit Thrushes. As I was returning shortly after
noon I heard Crows cawing & looking up saw a
flock of fully five hundred nearly over Ball's Hill and
at fully the elevation at which Wild Geese ordinarily
fly when on migration. The Crows were coming
from the N.E. & were evidently looking for a place
to alight or rather, as I felt assured by their behavior,
were heading towards a place where at least
some of them had often halted to rest and feed in former
migrations. After circling a few times they descended
to the fields beyond Bensen's and behind Holden's Hill
where I heard them cawing every now and then
during the remainder of the afternoon. This is
the first migratory flock that I have seen this
autumn.
[margin]Arrival of
great flock of northern 
Crows [/margin]
  Just after dinner I noticed a Golden eye in the
river opposite the cabin. It was diving for food
& I watched it a long time. Finally I got the 
gun and attempted to paddle out to it but
it rose as soon as it saw the canoe & flew off
down river returning to the same place an hour 
later. It was either a [female] or a young [male].
[margin]Whistler in
the river[/margin]