Point Lepreaux, N.B. [Point Lepreau, New Brunswick]
Wednesday
April 19 [April 19, 1876] Alternately cloudy and clear. Wind light
and changeable shifting entirely round the
compass during the day. Fowl flew well
from daylight up to about 9 A.M. when
they stopped entirely. Rose at 5 and with
S. [William Stone] went out in the boat. Fired a number
of shots all long as usual but got only 
two coot both O. perspicillata [Oidemia perspicillata] adlt [adult males].
Shot down several others that escaped.
At least half the birds that passed were
O. fusca [Oidemia fusca], the remainder nearly all O. perspic. [Oidemia perspicillata]
After breakfast started out again with
Thomas & S. Got a long shot into a
flock of O. fusca [Oidemia fusca] and killed one a
rather poor [male] that flew a long distance
and dropped dead. Then a flock of
ten "skunk heads" came along strung
out in a long line. I fired a long shot
at them aiming twelve feet at least
ahead of the leader and wounding
the next to the hindmost bird of the
line. It flew some distance then dropped
into the water where the others came
back and lit with it. Rowing out
all flew excepting a [male] then started off
several times but immediately came
back to the wounded one (a [female]) &
finally we broke its wing at long
range. At the shot the wounded [female]
dove and though we carefully watched
& the water was very smooth we did not
see it again. The last one also disap-
peared after one or two dives. Where
they go to is a mystery to me as they
seem as far as I have observed