Middlesex Co., Mass. [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
1874 Sept. 21 - 1874 [September 21, 1874]
Sept. 21 Clear cool & a fine day. In A.M. Mr.
Maynard called and stopped to dinner
with me. He saw a Mimus polyglottos
at Newtonville last evening (Sept. 20): had
a good sight at it & from its actions
is confidant that it was not an escaped
cage bird. In P.M. went into town
and saw J.C. Melvin [James C. Melvin]: he has found
woodcock quite plenty all through
the summer & up to present date has
seldom failed to put up from 10 to 12
per day. Since Sept. 6 when he saw
the last bird in a corn field they have
been altogether on fall ground, principally
birch hillsides. As cock have been exceedingly
scarce everywhere else he is at a loss
to imagine where these have come from
as they were not there in July.
  Sept. 22 [September 22, 1874] Clear & a most lovely day. Started for
the swamps with Stone at 9 A.M. and
beat them all carefully for Op. agilis [Oporornis agilis],
finding only two both of which I shot.
Small birds of all kinds were very
numerous especially D. striata [Dendroica striata] which
absolutely swarmed everywhere. I shot
a Turdus Aliciae and a y.y. Fulica Am. [Fulica americana]
Sitta Candensis has been very abundant
here and I saw several today. Rails
are absolutely swarming in the
swamps: Every shot that we fired
elicited angry cries from all parts
of their watery retreats. Saw a flock of at