Viewing page 40 of 78

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

74
March 4th Obtained today three of the Crossbills seen at Astoria & Vancouver in the winter. Their habits & notes resemble the Goldfinch's much, but their food seems to consist almost entirely of the Pine seeds & they rarely descend to the ground. Weather continues rainy -- A species of Willow has been flowering here since my arrival, also Stellaria
March 6th Shot to-day a hare of the species common west of the Cascades. It does not change color in winter. Heard the Thrushes* singing a few minor notes in a sharp high key like the rattling of chains - Went in a canoe to the lake mentioned Feb 24th but saw nothing except one duck. Could catch no fish with the fly & found no shells there - Yesterday I found indistinct & crumbling remains of shells in the rock of a point which I think is wholly of sand and clay-
March 9th Went yesterday to Cape Disappointment & its vicinity The points of rock exposed on the shore are apparently of the same hard material as + above noticed veined by albite.
* T. nacvius + Basalt - 
[[end page]]
[[start page]]
75
Today shot two Greenwing teal which is a common species in this country - Observed also a blue Crane & several eagles [[?of]] the two varieties - 
The weather continues rainy with short intervals of sunshine & cloudy skies -
March 10th Went up Wallicut Creek about 2 miles to Mr F-- s house Saw on the way a large owl *, said to be a common kind - but could not distinguish the species The Creek winds about through alluvial meadows covered with scattered spruce trees of perhaps 20 years growth - In the banks of the creek are frequently seen stumps "in situ" showing that it was once thickly timbered - The tide runs in almost to the sources of these creeks & makes deep & muddy channels where there is very little water at low tide The surface is covered with coarse grasses in tussocks, Cattails &c with Crabapples & other shrubs Considerable drift timber obstructs the upper parts of the creek - Obtained the two Jays of date, the first seen, they have been wintering in this vicinity - Their notes resemble the whistle of the Cardinal but are slower & less varied  - [[underlined]] * S. cinerex [[guess]] [[/underlined]] 

Transcription Notes:
T. = Turdus According to Wikipedia, "The crossbill is a genus, Loxia, of birds in the finch family, with three to five species. These birds are characterised by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. The word as written here in the first line has the double (ss) written with the old-fashioned long s followed by a not very clear s so it looks like fs