a 
"Damsdale". 
1892 
Jajuary 30 
pa 
Damsdale 
Woods 
Chickadees 
and 
Golden crest 
After the snow had quite ceased falling, I started 
for the Damsdale(woods) following the Estabrook road. There 
was perhaps an inch of new snow, fine and powdery, but it had 
blown off many places in the road and in the fields the tips 
of the grass blades rising through and above it gave the sur¬ 
face a decided tinge of pale straw color, 
[Near the entrance of Derby* s lane I came upon three 
Chickadees accompanied by a Golden-crest, the first I have 
seen this month, I also started a very large adult Red¬ 
tailed Hawk from the top of an apple-tree in the meadow oppo- 
"7 
site. 
Following the brook up through the Damsdale meadow I 
looked closely among the tussocks and bushes for tracks of 
small mammals. In two places I found the fresh trail of a 
mouse leading from one bunch of grass to the next, six or 
eight feet across open snow, thus proving that these animals 
expose themselves to some extent by day. There were no other 
tracks of any kind. Turning back and climbing the slight 
ridge to the south I found on the sheltered edge of the woods 
a merry party of Tree Sparrows, 24 in number and with them 
Junco 
one Junco. They were feeding among some weeds. Every now 
Tree Sparrow s 
and then the musical tweedle . tweedle call would start and 
run through the flock. They had covered the fresh snow with 
braided trails, the foot prints in pairs or one slightly in 
Foot prints 
advance. tte±st: —- % A Downy Woodpecker near them 
in a wild cherry. 
Field Mice 
