On a cold blustery day the Medford Leas Birders met at the Nature Center at 8 a.m. to commence our sightings and listings. While the temperature never got out of the 20’s the bright sun slowly began to warm the day and rouse the birds. A couple of early arriving birders were treated to the sight of a Bald Eagle flying towards us at just above tree level and offering some excellent views of this magnificent bird.

While the garden area did not prove very productive the vegetative cover and bright sun along the edges of Rushmore brought us Chickadees, Titmice, House Finches, Juncos, White Throats and wonderful looks at a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker feeding in brilliant sun on a conifer. We moved on to the Woods Cottage where the feeders drew in many Goldfinches and the trees nearby held White-breasted Nuthatches, a Brown Creeper, Northern Flicker and a heard-but-not-seen Red-bellied Woodpecker.

We ended our day at Bridlington with a large flock of Starlings swooping in coordinated movements from one landing place to another in the trees. At Bridlington as well as all the other areas the most dominant bird was the Robin who at times were almost like gnats flying overhead and landing in the trees around us. We had three more species and couple of hundred more birds than last year’s count.

Weather: 22-27 degrees. Bright sun with occasional gusts.

Participants: Joe Costanza, Dino Fiabane, Marie Gleason, Robert Koch, Kay Smith, Miriam Swartz, and Louise Tompkins.