Cambridge, Mass.
1899.                                                                                                                                                         
December
  Larus a. smothsonianus. - Walter Dean & I made the
following counts at Fresh Pond. [Dec] 11: 300, [Dec] 13: 860, [Dec] 14: 232,
[Dec] 17: 500, [Dec] 21: 6, [Dec] 25: 16. On several occasions when the weather
was exceptionally calm & mild I visited the Pond
without finding a single Gull there. On the 17th rather
more than half the surface was closed by thin ice
along the edges of which near the middle the birds
began collecting until about 400 were assembled in a 
gray & white mass. In this throng we counted 85 gray birds
- rather more than the usual proportions of young to adults.
  On the afternoon of the 11th as I was passing
Fresh Pond shortly before sunset the Gulls started on
their evening flight to the sea, all departing in two
flocks, the second following the first  after an interval of
about five minutes. All the birds of each flock left the
water at practically the same moment and flew straight 
down into Cambridge North. When they neared its extremity
they turned back and began extending in spirals until
they had reached an elevation of about 200 yards when
they formed into a compact cluster and gradually drifted
off out of sight to the eastward soaring in small circles
for the first quarter of a mile and at the last moving 
more swiftly in a straight course. There were about 300
birds in all and this flight was very beautiful &
impressive.
  Not once during the past autumn have I seen any of
the Gulls which have assembled at Flick Pond in such
numbers flying about in search of food. They used to
beat back & forth along the shore frequently swooping down
to pick up a small fish but of late years they have evidently
frequented the Pond solely to rest & bathe on its sheltered surfaces.
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