Point Lepreaux N. B. [Point Lepreau, New Brunswick] 
1876. Extraordinary flight of fowl.
Sunday
April 16 [April 16, 1876] Morning clear with S.W. [southwest] wind. Clouded up 
in P.M. and rained hard in the evng [evening]
with half a gale from the S. [south] Through the
forenoon a few large flocks of coots flew.
After dinner took the telescope and went
down to the lee side of the point with
Mr. Thomas and lay there till supper
time. The fowl commenced moving
almost as soon as we got there and
the sight that we witnessed from that
time till nearly dark was one that
exceeded all my expectations. Thousands
upon thousand of fowl were continually
passing stringing out in long lines,
bunched together in masses - in
every conceivable form of marshalment
in fact - all streaming along shore
to the Eastward. Nearly all these birds
were coot and most of them O. perspicillata [Oidemia perspicillata]
in contrast with previous days. Great 
numbers of brant also flew at
least 1000 being observed. Saw two
or three good flocks of eiders also.
The [delete]fowl[/delete] coots lit in the water a good
deal to day. In the cove to the W. [west] at
least 200 collected in a bed and I
watched them a long time through the
glass. In the flock I could find only
a single pair of O. Am. [Oidemia americana] all the others
being  O. perspicillata [Oidemia perspicillata], the males very
beautiful in their full plumage. Again
I distinctly saw them drink the salt
water [delete]lifting[/delete] elevating the bill almost
perpendicularly at each sip. The peculiar
murmuring noise seems to be made