1876.
MASS. (Middlesex Co.) [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
Wenesday [Wednesday]
Sept. 27 [September 27, 1876] Clear but windy and cool. I drove down to
Cambridge with Jim [Melvin] on the afternoon of the
24th [September 24, 1876] (Sunday) and stopped over night coming 
up to Concord Monday evening. Tuesday
(Sept. 27 [September 26, 1876]) it rained in torrents so that I
did not get out at all. This morning Dan
and I started down river in my new
boat which I purchased of James
Farley (for $14). Taking lunch we spent the
whole day going down as far as Carlisle 
bridge. On the way down I shot a 
greebe (P. podiceps) [Podilymbus podiceps] paddling up to it rather
easily. I [It] was a [male] in the ordinary fall plumage
but I am very sure that it was adult
as the testicles were very large ([illustration]) for a
bird of the year. Going ashore above the
bridge we started a grouse several times
and I fired one shot at it. "Dash" showed
strong signs that he scented its track but
did not point. Beat the snipe meadow
pretty thoroughly but saw not a bird of
any kind. On the way back went into
a little piece of cover below Flints bridge
and put up a grouse twice firing three
times at him & killing, the last shot.
Saw two Circus Hud. [Circus hudsonius] during the day, one
of them an adlt. [adult male]. Saw also a number
of Har. rufus [Harporhynchus rufus], some Mimus Car. [Mimus carolinensis] and
an Accipiter fuscus. The maples near
the river are perfectly gorgeous with
brilliant coloring, though those on the
higher land have not turned much
yet. The river meadows were very barren
of bird [?] not even sparrows being
abundant. In the evening took a moonlight
ride with Jim [James C. Melvin.]
[margin]Ruffed grouse 1[/margin]