Concord, Mass.
Ball's Hill
1900.
October 12
  Cloudless most of the day and very warm with light W. wind.
Late in the afternoon it fell calm and clouds overspread the sky.
Still later there was a breath of E. wind.
  At about half-past six this morning I went to the landing
and looked off over the river & the meadows beyond. The air was
brilliantly clear & deliciously soft & warm. A Meadow Lark & a
Swamp Sparrow were singing across the river, Bluebirds were
calling overhead. I could hear Rusty Black birds in the distance.
Early morn.
Meadow Lark
  Purdie, who spent the night with me, walked to the farm
in the forenoon. He saw three White-bellied Nuthatches in the
old orchard and a large mixed flock in the brush grown road
near the school house included a dozen or more White throated Sparrow
and about 8 Bluebirds. There were also some Juncos & upwards
of 20 Myrtle Warblers.
Small birds
seen at the
farm. 
   Purdie saw two pairs of Bluebirds perform the act of
copulation after which they flitted though an apple orchard examining
all the holes & crevices in the trees as if looking for nesting
places just as they do in early spring.
Bluebirds 
copulating
  As I was paddling up river this afternoon I saw a Hawk
perched on a stake near the head of Beaver Dam rapid. It
sat very erect and was long & slim in shape with a very long
tail. I thought of a Gos hawk at once but although the bird allowed
me to approach within less than 20 yards I could not make out
its coloring as the light came from beyond it. When it flew
it crossed the Barrett meadow & plunged into the woods beyond.
Its flight was gliding and rather swift with alternating flapping
& scaling. I landed and followed it starting it again from a tree
on the edge of the meadow west of Holden's Hill.  This time it 
was scarce 20 feet from me & I had a good view of its back &
tail as it went off. It was almost certainly a young Gos hawk a female I think.
Its spotted plumage & light grayish upper tail coverts were conspicuous.
An oddly
colored
Red Shoul'd
Hawk. Goshawk
106