Eastern Massachusetts.
1899.
December
  A remarkably mild and pleasant month with no snow whatever
and the city lawns fresh and green nearly or quite up to the 25th.
During rather more than half the days the thermometer was constantly above
the freezing point and it rose to 61 [degrees] on the 12th & to 54 [degrees] on the 13th.
while it did not fall below 20 [degrees] until the 29th when it went
to 16 [degrees]. On the 30th it fell to 14 [degrees] and on the 31st to 6 [degrees].
[margin]Weather[/margin]
  I was closely confined most of the time but I visited
Fresh Pond repeatedly in the early forenoon and on the 27th
went to Concord for the day driving through the Estabrook
road and making a brief call on the Barrett farm.
[margin]My personal 
movements[/margin]
  White-winged Crossbills in considerable numbers, Red Crossbills
& Canada Nuthatches in smaller numbers and a few Pine Finches
were reported by the younger men who were frequently afield and
Mr. H.B. Bigelow met with a flock of 5 Pine Grosbeaks on 
Cohasset on the 2nd.
[margin]Winter birds[/margin]
  Fresh Pond was partly skimmed over for the first time
on the 17th, opened the next day and closed wholly &
for the winter on the 28th. Up to the date last
mentioned its waters were constantly enlivened by the
presence of great numbers of Black Ducks among which
were usually two or three Mallards, on several occasions two
male Pintails and from one to two or three Whistlers, while
once there was a green-winged Teal. I think that Lothrop
also saw two or three Hooded Mergansers on one occasion
but he has not yet given me a copy of his notes.
[margin]Ducks[/margin]
 Herring Gulls visited the pond less often & in smaller numbers
than during November but still it was by no means unusual 
to find from 15 or 20 to 200 or 300 of them there in the
forenoon when the weather was calm & mild and on the
morning of the 13th I counted the very unusual number
of 860 among which were two Black backed Gulls in adult plumage.
[margin]Gulls.[/margin]
190