Cambridge, Mass.
1909.
March 16
  Early morning sunny and frosty. Afternoon cloudy
with muddy streets. Light S.W. wind.
  Purdie & I went to Fresh Pond at 9 A.M. to see
the water-fowl which have been numerous there of late. The
ice went out some time ago but the pond skimmed 
over in many places last night so that there were large
areas covered with new ice sufficiently strong to support
the weight of Ducks and Gulls. The open water was
almost perfectly calm and the birds swimming in it
were nearly as conspicuous as those on the ice. From
the end of Hemlock Point, whence one can look over
the entire pond, we counted 84 Black Ducks, 31
Gooseanders and about a dozen Herring Gulls. No
other water birds were seen during the morning.
Most of the Black Ducks were standing or lying
on the ice near the middle of the pond. At one