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76
Santa Clara

[[left margin]] Nov 15th [[/left margin]] 
Yesterday I returned from E's & today walked out in the morning and obtained some birds. 
[[left margin]] [[?Haliaetus]] [[/left margin]] Saw a white headed eagle & another which seemed much larger but colored like the young. Last night there was a heavy white frost the first this year.  The day was very warm & pleasant.
[[left margin]] Spermophilus [[/left margin]] The "Squirrels" remain active as well as the woodrats which now seem to feed much on the bark of Sycamore.  The former are said to destroy sometimes 35 to 40 acres of grain which they cut the heads off of clean from one point & deposit them in their burrows which have been seen 30 ft deep in digging a well.

[[left margin]] 17th [[/left margin]] 
Weather continues warm with white frost at night.  
[[left margin]] [[?Mns]] [[/left margin]] Yesterday caught one of the woodrats in a trap.  It seems to be of the Black species.  They are said to enter tents sometimes & steal the bread &c from the hunters which they stow very neatly in their houses.  The small skunks are probably the worst enemies of these & the squirrels being small & able to follow them.  The Rats are mostly nocturnal but sometimes come out in the daytime.
(Specimen destroyed by a cat - Jaws only preserved D.S. 2/3 - 6/4 V.app.)

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77
Valley Cala

[[left margin]] Nov 19th [[/left margin]] 
[[left margin]] Carpodacus frutalis [[/left margin]] Walked out this morning & shot three specimens of Carpodacus which seem to be C.frutalis & differ in form of bill & colors from Purpureus.  In flight and call they are very similar having somewhat the manners of a Carduelis.  These birds had been feeding on seeds of the Wild Mustard.  Noticed no other new things.  
Immense flocks of birds are now about the woods companies of several distinct species frequenting the ground, the trees & the fields.  
[[left margin]] Mephitidae [[/left margin]] Saw a dead skunk which seemed to have the tail of M. Macrourans.
Weather continues as yesterday but the day warmer & a fog on the Mts at sunset.

[[left margin]] 22nd [[/left margin]] 
Yesterday I rode up to Mr Canfields and remained.  Weather clear in the morning but it suddenly clouded up at noon & rained.  
Today rode out over the hills for several miles & saw some deer with several coveys of quails.  These hills resemble in form those of the north, but the timber is light chiefly on the southern slopes & composed of Oaks, Buckeye, cherry, Laurel & Arbutus.
[[left margin]] Trees [[/left margin]] Noticed no new species of birds.
It rained heavily part of hte afternoon but only at intervals.  Shot a Pigeon-hawk in the evening - a common species.
[[left margin]] Trochi [[?Bivolian]] [[/left margin]] Observed yesterday a Hummingbird the [[?Bivolian]] species.