
Hard frost last night Concord
First dandelion, peach & plum blossom.
[First] meal of asparagus. 
Ther [Thermometer] Wednesday, May 16, 1017 Wea [Weather]
Several migrants arrive. Fine
Brilliantly clear with chill violent N.W. [northwest] wind,
dying away at sunset, however. Very cold
last night. Ice 1/4 in [inch] thick in pails left out.
  First Nashville Warblers (2 [in full song] in Run) & Oven birds
(1 at Pulpit Rock, another giving flight song
at eve. in Berry Pas. [Berry Pasture]
  Fresh arrival Black thr. Green Warblers [Black-throated Green Warbler]. 3 [males] [in full song]
12 White-throated Sparrows spent entire day
eating millet on lawn front of house.
Partridge drumming on wall foot of run, 4.30 P.M.
3 Cock Pheasants crowing at sunset.
Flock 25 Bronzed Grackle alighted in top
of oak by roadside, rear of house, 8 A.M.
Scarce any birds singing near house. Heard
only one Robin at sunset. Thrasher in
full song, Howe pasture, 6.30 P.M.
  No Swallows appeared about boxes.
They are evidently very scarce this spring.
I miss their presence sadly.
  Spent most of day working with
George close about house. We spaded flower
beds & cut lawn. Walked to Birch Field with
Timmy at 8 A.M. & 6.30 P.M.
Two dandelions in flower. A few peach
& plum blossoms. First asparagus tonight.

Concord.
Ther [Thermometer] Thursday, May 17, 1917 Wea [Weather]
May migrants coming at last. Fine
Brilliantly clear. Early morn. calm. Chill N. [north]
wind through forenoon. Afternoon warmer with
light westerly breeze.
 First Prairie Warbler [male in full song] Cedar Park, 8 A.M.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak [male in full song] F. orchard [Farm orchard 8 A.M.]
4 noisy Jays, evidently new comers. Birch Field.
No marked increase in local res. [resident] birds.
Brown Thrasher singing gloriously in bushes
front of house 7-8 A.M. From 12-1 P.M.
he was on lawn making short, quick,
Robin-like runs hither & thither, seemingly
securing much food & just as the Robins do.
2 Bats in shed loft.
At 10 o'clock last night Gilbert [Robert A. Gilbert] & I heard strange
sounds coming from direction of big elm by
roadside. I went out to listen to them but
was quite at a loss then to identify them.
Series of 5 or 6 low, soft, rolling whistles
suggested those of Megascops yet were not quite
like its familiar ones. There were also weird 
rasping sounds like grating of teeth or of a 
coarse file on metal. All this went on
for 10 min. [minutes] or more & puzzled me surely.
This morning George found under the elm
a nearly dead young Screech Owl as large as a
Blackbird & covered with white down.
  Spent most of day working in garden.
Walked to Birch Fd. [Birch Field] with Tim 8 A.M., 6.30 P.M.
Norton came at 10.30 & stayed until noon.