1906
July 15
Concord, Mass.
  Clear, calm oppressively warm. Light south wind at evening.
  Spent the forenoon in the Ball's Hill region. In P.M.
walked to the farm by way of Bevoir's returning at evening
via Birch Field, Barrett's pines & Davis Hill.
  Forbush tells me that he has seen a hen Partridge & 3 young
nearly every day the past week on the very edge of the river
along the foot of Ball's Hill. I started them three times today
twice in the forenoon and once about 7 P.M. On all three
occasions they rose from the bushes at the water's edge not
far from birch gate.
  As I was crossing the Barrett meadow this morning I 
heard two Red-shouldered Hawks screaming almost continuously
on the westernmost knoll of the Blakemore land. Following up
the sound I started what looked like a young or immature
bird which flew off screaming. At the same moment I saw
a Gray Squirrel moving about with apparent unconcern within
20 feet of the perch which the Hawk had just left.
This perch, a dead & leaning tree, was literally covered with
hawk down & the ground beneath it was white with
chalky excrement & littered with pellets. About thirty yards
off was an almost continuous ring of chalk marks
encircling an oak about 40 ft. in height & 10 or 12 inches
through at the base. In a fork of this oak perhaps
25 ft. above the ground was a nest smaller than a 
Crows (indeed scarce larger than a Green Herons)
but made chiefly of sticks & constructed after the
usual pattern of a Hawk's nest. I have never before seen
anything like so much excrement under a bird's nest
of any kind.