47
Concord, Mass.
1898.
April 6
  A perfect morning, the sky without a cloud, the sun
shining with dazzling brilliance on the fresh fallen snow.
By noon the trees had freed themselves from the heavy
masses of snow which had loaded down their tops &
branches and by night the ground was bare again
excepting on northern slopes & in dense woods. 
  When I came down the ladder a little after 
sunrise the Sparrows were assembled in front of the
cabin but their seed was buried under four inches
of damp snow. I swept off the bed and put out
a fresh supply which the hungry birds attacked at
once but a few minutes later a Red-winged Blackbird
plumped down in the middle of the bed and
scattering the Sparrows right and left began eating
greedily. He was quickly joined by others of his kind
until no less than ten of the beautiful birds were
clustered together devouring the seed. The Sparrows
meanwhile were scattered about in the neighboring
bushes looking on with evident disgust. After a 
few minutes three of the Fox Sparrows (there were
only five about to-day) plucked up courage and
resumed their breakfast keeping, however, as far
as possible from the Red-wings. The other Finches
did not return to the seed until after the
Red-wings had left. These are the first Blackbirds
that I have ever had the pleasure of feeding here.
There were fifteen Juncos, three Tree Sparrows, four
or five Song Sparrows and one Swamp Sparrow
in front of the cabin during the day.