Flying trip to Lake Umbagog.
1899
September 30
to
October 2.
  I left Bethel at noon on the 30th and went to Lakeside
by stage arriving at 6 P.M. The day was clear & cold with
a strong N.W. wind, the mountains were wholly free from haze
and the autumn coloring was at its height & exceptionally
brilliant. Several Hermit Thrushes, a few Bluebirds & Grass Finches,
large flocks of Robins, Chippies and Flickers and two Red-tailed
Hawks were seen during the drive.
  I returned to Bethel on the 2nd by a private team leaving
Lakeside at 8 a.m. and reaching the Gehrings' shortly after
noon. The weather was cloudy & cold with fine pellets of snowy
hail or hail-like snow falling almost incessantly & rattling
on the dry lawns. Two Bicknell's Thrushes were seen in Newry.
  During both days the country between Newry & Upton, and
on the 1st there immediately around Lakeside, was alive with
White-crowned Sparrows. I must have seen in all upwards
of 100, the greatest number on the 2nd. They were in small
flocks (some of which also contained one or two White-throated
or Song Sparrows) and were usually seen in patches of weeds
or thickets of low bushes by the roadside. More than half
of those that I examined closely were adults. Throughout
the open country they probably outnumbered any one of the other
species of the smaller birds, at least on October 2nd, which
probably marked the height of the southward migration
this year.
[margin]White-crowned
Sparrows
abundant.[/margin]
  October 1st was a bitterly cold day for the season
with cloudy sky, a keen N.W. wind and frequent
flurries of snow, which melted as soon as it struck the
ground on the lower levels but whitened the upper slopes
of the mountains from morning to night.
  I spent the forenoon up the Lake going by
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