4 . 
September 18, 1899 - Monday. 
Went down by the ditch just before dinner. 
Now a description of the ditch will not be amiss. 
It is about 5 rods as I already have said from 
our barn. It is at the east side of the school 
grounds. It is a ditch about three feet deep 
and four wide, into which the water from the 
street is fed by under ground pipes. It is 
about 8 rods long from Fiske's pasture and 
meadow to the beginning. It is comparatively 
clear for the first two rods, then till it 
enters the pasture its banks are overgrown with 
weeds. Generally there is water in it. As I 
approached it today a lot of male goldfinches 
rose up and two commenced to fight rising up, 
each trying to get above the other and pecking 
all the time till they were about 20 feet up 
when they dropped back again.Along the margin 
of the ditch are 5 small boxelder trees, as I 
approached them I heard a zip , and a bunting 
flSW away. In one of the trees was an old 
robin’s nest. To the north of the ditch on 
the school grounds are 3 clumps of willows. As 
I approached some berry bushes I frightened up 
another bunting. Then I went home. 
September 20, 1899 - Wednesday . 
As I was out in the barn this morninga flock 
of about 20 robins flew over. They straggled 
along in parties of 2 or 3 about 50 feet apart. 
Most of them lit in town after flying around in 
large circle? but one went clear over to J. 
Hackett's grove and lit in a tall tree. They 
talked a good deal. They were about 80 feet up 
in the air. I could distinguish them by the 
strong direct flight, the notes and the reddish 
breasts. Heard several meadowlarks singing 
early this morning over across the river. I 
hear them every morning now. Sometimes several 
sing at once. 
