The Medford Leas Birders set out to get some idea of the spring migrants that visit our campuses, as well as recording some numbers on our resident populations. At Medford, the trills of Redwings, the whistles of Cardinals, the “Peter, Peter” of the Tufted Titmice and the shrill squawks of Blue Jays were a constant background cacophony. The Bluebird boxes in the meadow were occupied mostly by Tree Swallows although we did see Bluebirds in and around the meadow. A pair of Orchard Orioles was also seen in the meadow area. What we did miss was any sighting of wood warblers although some vocalizations hinted at their presence. We were just not confident enough to make the call by ear alone. Overall we totaled 30 species.

At the Lumberton campus the Red-winged Blackbirds, Cardinals, Titmice and Blue Jays were similarly abundant while the meadow nest boxes were housing Tree Swallows. We did not see any Bluebirds although they were around in the winter months and earlier in the Spring. The only warbler we encountered was a Black and White. Several Great Egrets were seen along the Rancocas Creek and its marshes. A Black-billed Cuckoo, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Northern Waterthrush were seen just before and just after our count day but are not included in the count day list. Like the Medford Campus, a total of 30 species were recorded.

Participants:  Dino Fiabane, Robert Koch, Laurie Larson and Jean Tindall.

Text and Photos by Robert Koch.