Concord, Mass.
1895
March 27
  Clear with high N.W. wind. Cold in the early morning, ice
forming in all the coves where the water was shallow
& sheltered from the wind.
  At 9 A.M. I started down river in the Stella Maris
canoe. The current was swift and the wind strong so
I made rapid progress sailing nearly the whole distance
to Swift's farm (beyond Lawrence's) where I met the
owner by appointment and inspected his premises which
are for sale. I returned to the cabin at noon and
dined there finding everything in good order. After
dinner I walked a short distance though the woods
behind the hill and then started for Concord beating
about half-way up the meadows and paddling the
remainder of the distance.
  Although most of the meadows are flooded the
water is unusually low for this season. I saw
about twenty Black Ducks, eleven Whistlers and three
Gooseanders. The musk-rat slaughterers have been
very busy of late and I did not see a single musk-rat
although no doubt a few are left.
  Song Sparrows are numerous everywhere and two Fox
Sparrows were scratching the leaves near the cabin.
Crows were very abundant but I saw none migrating.
There were a few Tree Sparrows in the alder swamps
and I heard Rusty Blackbirds & saw a single Red-wing.
The total absence of Bluebirds was a marked
and sad feature. Not one has been seen in
Concord this spring so far as I can learn &
the farmers are wondering what has become of
their favorite bird.