1875. Middlesex Co., Mass. [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
June 5 [June 5, 1875] melted out of sight in the distance
and although I lay in ambush for
more than an hour he did not return.
Taking the nest and [female] bird I returned
to the wagon finding a newly finished
nest of Pyranga rubra by the way, and
reached the house in time for dinner.
Heard an E. flaviventris [Empidonax flaviventris] and saw two
Seiurus noveboracensis. D. striata [Dendroica striata] is
still with us in small numbers.
Upon blowing the hawks eggs found
two perfectly fresh, the other two with
a slight bloody neuclus [nucleus] masking the
incipient embryo. The stomach of
the [female] bird contained a nearly whole
Arvicola riparia. Among the intestines 
were a few small whitish worms.
Took a nest of E. minimus [Epidonax minimus] in our garden
4 eggs incubated about a week.
  June 7 [June 5, 1875] Cloudy all day with E. [east] wind and driving
fog. Heavy thunder shower in P.M. after
which a rain storm set in and lasted all
night, a grateful boon, as we have not
had so much as a sprinkle before for
many week [weeks]. Off by 7, Charles driving
me up to the hill. Devoted the day
to searching for prairie warbler's nests,
but found only two, 4 eggs each.
Both these were in the old spot where I
have taken them every season, and although
I heard many males singing elsewhere
in good looking places, I could find
no other nests. The larger proportion