MASS. (Middlesex Co.) [Middlesex County, Massachusetts]
1876.
Sunday
Dec. 31 [December 31, 1876] The year (1876) closes to day with solid winter
weather. Since Dec. 9th [December 9, 1876] the groun [ground] has been
covered with snow, no warm spells having
occurred. At date of writing we have about 
in this vicinity about 25 inches and the
sleighing is good. The past month has been
characterized by a great scarcity of birds
both as to individuals and species. No
[delete]winter[/delete]irregular winter visitors at all
and regular species scantily represented. In
late Nov. [November 1876] and the first part of this month
Goodale had four
Nyctale acadica sent in from the vicinity
of Boston: he always has more of this species
than any other taxidermist of my
acquaintance.
Mr. Abbott Frazer has seen
Turdus migratorius regularly - but in very small numbers
on and about the Coolidge farm in Water-
town through the past two months. He also saw
distinctly
Accipiter fuscus in the same locality on Dec. 29 [December 29, 1876]: a
bird of the same species (and probably the
same individual was seen at nearly the
same place by Mr. W. Patten, Dec. 30 [December 30, 1876].
Mr. Frazer also informs me that he has counted
up in all nine specimens of
Melanerpes erythrocephalus shot in Watertown and
Newton the past autumn (see p. 397)
At Goodales is a specimen of
Plectrophanes lapponicus shot at Chelsea beach Mass. [Chelsea beach, Massachusetts] Dec.
29th 1876 [December 29, 1876].
Plectrophenax nivalis is very scarce this year and I
have seen only a very few, most of those flying
high in air.