Concord, Mass.
Ball's Hill.
1900.
August 7
  Cloudy with light E. wind and showers at short
intervals through the day & into the night wetting deep
into the drought-parched earth.
  Spent most of the day at or near the cabin
superintending the work of the men. In the forenoon 
went to the woods beyond the Barrett meadow with
Peterson cut some chestnuts for rain water collectors.
Birds appeared to be scarce. I heard a Great Blue
Heron and saw a Black Duck flying over the meadows
and a Water Thrush in the thicket in front of the
cabin.
Gr. B. Heron
Black Duck
Water Thrush
  The only birds heard singing were two Black & White
Creepers, two Yellow Warblers (apparently young - at least 
their songs were weak & broken), a Red-eyed Vireo, a Song
Sparrow, a Wood Pewee (singing the short, listless midsummer 
note) and a Flicker (shouting several times in succession).
For the first time during the past week no Quail were
heard whistling.
Birds singing
Quail silent
  Last evening at about 8 o'clock a Screech Owl wailed
for fifteen minutes or more across the river.
Screech Owl
  Taking advantage of the rain to-day we burned
several large brush piles that have accumulated on the
meadows. At evening I was poking around among the remains 
of one of them when, to my surprise, I uncovered a
small Snake (Storeria dekayi) which was lying directly
under a mass of glowing & intensely hot embers. As it
wriggled off into the grass I had a good view of it
& became convinced that it had been in no way injured.
Probably it sought the ember bed for its grateful warmth.
Pat says a young Rabbit ran from under this bush heap when we lighted it.
Burning brush
A DeKay's 
Snake in
embers of
fire
59