Middlesex Co., Mass. [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
1875
Sunday, Jan. 24- 1875 [January 24, 1875]
Jan. 24 Cloudy with a slight fall of snow in
the afternoon. Started immediately
after dinner to drive over to A. Smiths
in Brooklyne [Brookline]. While passing the
[?] farm saw a flock of about a
dozen T. migratorius [Turdus migratorius] among the cedars
beyond the brook. I have seen only
a single bird (which appeared to be
locally resident) there before this winter
and probably these new arrivals have
been driven from some snug winter
retreat by a scarcity of food. When frequent
severe winter storms prevail all birds,
even those whose food is of such a nature
as to be in no danger of submergence,
seem stimulated to great restlessness
and activity and their great anxiety 
with regard to their necessary subsistence
is plainly manifested. In Brooklyne
I saw two large flocks of pine grosbeaks,
one comprising at least 30 individuals,
but detected no red ones among them.
  Jan. 25 [January 25, 1875] Fine and cold with high wind. Took
a ride up the turnpike to Belmont
in P.M. Saw two large flocks of
Plec. nivalis [Plectrophenax nivalis] in the road feeding 
among the dropping of the horses. They
were so tame that I nearly drove 
over them and could not be forced 
to leave the road.
Jan. 26 [January 26, 1975] Clear and cold. Saw a M. melodia [Melospiza melodia] in Brighton
feeding on the threshold of a stable.