Bethel, Me. [Maine] February 29, 1904
Ther [thermometer] 28 [degrees] min [minimum] 36 [degrees] max [maximum]
  Cloudy and mild with light N.E. [northeast] to N. [north] wind.             
  Out most of the forenoon working for awhile
trimming the lower branches of trees along Balsam Trail
afterwards spending an hour or more at the camp where
the Doctor joined me & we had a fire.
  In a grove of larches 20 to 30 feet tall, at the beginning
of the Balsam Trail I found, to my surprise, 19 Chickadees
assembled in two or three adjoining trees feeding after the manner
of the Redpolls in picking the larch buds to pieces eating a
portion & scattering shards of the brownish fibre on the snow. Where 
could so many of these birds have come from? I have seen
no more than 4 or 5 together before.