Point Lepreaux N.B. [Point Lepreau, New Brunswick]
Diurnal migration of small birds
1876.
Saturday
April 15 [April 15, 1876] Cloudy with occasional rain and heavy fog
all day. A very heavy flight of fowl continuing
intermittently all day. Coots were the 
most numerously represented and of these
as before the O. am. [Oidemia americana] were largely in excess. 
Have seen only a few O. fusca [Oidemia fusca] and these
always flying separately. Today hardly
any fowl were seen to light and this
Mr. Thomas tells me is always the case
when they are flying well. Saw two
or three very large flocks of S. mollissima [Somateria mollissima] -
at least 75 birds in some of them. They
fly very low over the water and usually
in a [delete]line[/delete] parallel line like the front rank
of regiment of soldiers. They present a
most beautiful appearance the drakes
showing almost entirely white. Went down
on the rocks in the forenoon and lay
there several hours but did not get
a single good shot. Stone however
killed an old squaw - a drake in
winter pl. [plumage] Sitting on the point it was
most interesting to see the small birds
come in out of the mist from the 
S. [south] for many species were migrating 
at midday. Sparrows of various kinds
but principally M. melodia [Melospiza melodia], Junco, 
and Pas. iliaca [Passerella iliaca] came trooping along close
to the water and all alighted among
the rocks as soon as they reached
the point. One very large flock of Turdus
migratorius, a number of crows and
a Chrysomitris - also landed. Saw
a good many loons and one flock of
Tringa maritima came by the point