1872, 
General Observations, 
Middlesex County, Mass, 
Janw 18. 
An evident movement of winter birds from a little 
further south. For the past month birds have been scar¬ 
cer than I ever know them before. To dav Suizella monti>- 
cola. Parus atricaoillus, and Cvnaocitta cristata were 
seen in abundance. 
Apr. 
A heavy migration of Hav/ks at Concord, Mass. Among 
them B.uteo bOLrealis. Accioiter fuscus, A. eoooeri, Falco 
columbarius Circus hu^ponius. 
1874, 
Mar-* 3. 
The ground is now bare in places and the weather warm 
I found two species of grasshoppers in the fields, one 
brown in color, the other uniform grass-green. The lar^ 
blue-bodied blow-fly,was also out in sheltered places 
crawling about in a semi-torpid state. 
May 11-1^ Upon returning to Cambridge May 11, I found the 
country as bleak and bare as in April, none of the trees 
being green except a few of the lilacs, and grass only 
just starting; despite this backward condition of vegeta¬ 
tion many of the summer birds were here in abundance, amcg 
them: Orioles, Warblers, Vireos, and Yellow Warblers. 
I believe that these and mnay other late spgcies mi¬ 
grate approximately on fixed dates v/ithout much reference 
^^othe vegetation. On May 13 the thermometer rose to 
85 , and the general appearance of the country changed 
with marvelous rapidity, many of the trees which this 
morning were entirely bare being decidedly green by 
evening. None but the earliest, however, such as horse 
chestnuts and v/illov/s, have as yet started, and the 
v/oods are as bare and as dreary looking as in winter. 
15. 
This season is certainly an unusual one Dendroeca 
abundant, and Se.ol.ecouhaKus ferruueneus numor— 
ous, while most of the summer birds such as Orioles, 
Bobolikns, Wilson’s Thrushes, Yellow Warblers, etc. are 
abundant. 
• 
CO 
Walking quietly along the road through the Belmont 
Willows, my attention was attracted by a shrill squeaking, 
and looking closely I discovered a number of Shrews, 
chasing one another about the trukns of two huge wi’llows, 
and occasionally up their stems to the height of six or 
eight feet, then returning to the ground v/here they ap¬ 
peared and disappeared in the numerous holes among the 
leaves v/ith marvelous quickness and agility. Frequently 
as many as six or seven were in sight at once. I esti¬ 
mated the total number at about a dozen. Many of them 
wore scarcely one quarter grovm. I could not decide 
v/hethor they were fighting or playing, but probably the 
latter. 
-July 21 
