CONCORD. 
1895 
March 31 
TJhe month came in”like a lamb” and is going 
out ”like a lion”. Although the sky was cloudless and 
the sun deliciously w-arm at noon, the ground was frozen 
hard and the meadows skimmed w’ith ice this morning and 
all day long the North wind raged across the brown, life¬ 
less fields and roared through the naked, shivering ■woods. 
It is true that the Song Sparrows sang merrily through 
the forenoon and I saw a Phoebe in the early morning but 
during most of the day the aspect of the country chilled 
and depressed me. The snow banks have lost their winter 
purity and freshness and the bare fields and wooded 
slopes look bleached and dreary enough. A little before 
sunset, however, the wind lulled to a moderate breeze and 
to my great delight Red-winged Blackbirds appeared from 
I know not where and, perched on the tops of the isolated 
maples and elms along the river, made the air ring with 
their cono-quer- ees ♦ I had sailed down to Ball’s Hill 
in the early afternoon and was paddling homeward when 
at the foot of Barrett's bar I first heard this dear, 
familiar spring voice and saw its author expand his wings 
to show his brilliant epaulettes. Between this point 
and the North Bridge I counted no less than seven Red-wings 
all in full song. 
A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks are haunting 
Holden’s Hill. As I passed there to-day, keeping close 
in shore to avoid the wind, the female — a fine large 
/a. 
