CONCORD 
Ball's Hill . 
October 12 
Tortoises 
Snipe shooting 
Ja flock oi Bluebirds and Myrtle Warblers about 
the house in the early morning and Song, White-throated 
and Chipping Sparrows in the garden but none of them so 
numerous as for the past two or three days. Evidently the 
recent heavy bird wave passed on last night. 
Down river by boat with C. at 10 A. M, Several 
brown Purple Finches in the white willow at our landing, 
one of them warbling rather loudly but disconnectedly. 
Along the river below Flint's Bridge a Bittern, a Phoebe, 
a Kingfisher, a Swamp Sparrow, a few Myrtle Warblers and a 
good many Song Sparrows. A few Painted Tortoises sunning, 
not above five or six in all. 
Landing C. at Ball's Hill, I crossed the river^ 
and beat the Great Meadows, starting nothing but a single 
Snipe and two Savanna Sparrows. I heard Titlarks flying 
but saw none on the meadows, which they seem to avoid this 
year. I fired a long shot at the Snipe when he "towered" 
and fell fully 200 yards off. I felt sure that he was dead 
but after I had looked for him a long time he got up directly 
under my feet and I had to shoot again to secure him. 
After cooking and eating dinner at the cabin, I 
went over Ball's Hill. Saw only a Robin and three Blue Ja.ys, 
The weed-grown slope where the fire ran has been swarming 
with Swamp, Song and White-throated Sparrows for two weeks 
or more but I could not start a single bird there to-day. 
