Here are results of the Medford Leas Winter Bird Census, annual since January 1988, and other projects such as the Bluebird Trail.
Each year has a page, and summary tables are also available:
Cold to be sure (13° when we started), but with virtually no wind, it was a nice walk through the trails and around the perimeter path. Monarch Lake was partly frozen and hosted thousands of geese.
While the first hour was slow, by about 9 AM a mixed flock of Robins, Juncos, and white-throats with a few Myrtles, woodpeckers, and a Sapsucker were feeding actively in the hollies and evergreens.
Censusing started at 8 AM with a temperature of 16 degrees but little to no wind except in the open areas by the creek. Still waters were frozen, and the creek was mostly frozen after a week of cold weather.
Medford Leas 38th Annual Winter Bird Census, January 15, 2025 Wood Duck Red Fox The Medford Campus census started out pretty cold (low 20’s) and the wind kicked up a bit. Didn’t see much until we got to Woods Cottage.
The 2024 Medford Leas census was conducted on January 31 under gray skies with temperatures in the 40s and no wind.
The 25th Lumberton census was held on January 24, 2024; it was delayed a week because of snow cover on the woodland trails and very cold temperatures.
The 24th annual Lumberton winter bird count took place on January 18, 2023. The list combines those of three parties on different sections of campus.
Seven ML Birders met at the Nature Center parking lot on cold, sunny and windless day to begin the 36th Annual Bird Census.
This year’s annual Winter Census on the Lumberton campus on January 23 was cold, but relatively productive, recording 47 species and 5,166 individuals.
The 2022 Medford Campus Winter census was held on January 15. On that day, the temperature barely reached 25° F by noon; twenty-three species were recorded with a total of 850 individuals.
Twelve of the 13 nest boxes with metal poles and predator guards successfully fledged young with no predation. Several boxes had more than one successful nest. The bluebird success rate (#young fledged/#eggs) increased from 23.3% in 2020 to 85.7% in 2021. Tree Swallows and House Wrens also had significant improvement in 2021.
There are many nesting boxes at Lumberton Leas. While they all could accommodate bluebirds, most of the poles were wood (which black snakes and raccoons can climb) with no predator guard. In an effort to reduce predation, 12 of the original boxes on wooden poles have been replaced with boxes on metal poles with predator guards.
Summary table of Medford Leas winter bird census data from 1989 to present
A summary table of Winter Bird Census data for both Medford and Lumberton campuses, from 1989 to date.
The ML Birders conducted their annual winter census on 01/23/2021 for the Medford Campus . The weather was very cold and windy with brilliant sunshine. The only modification we had to make to the old adage of “no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing” was the addition of the socially responsible mask.
The ML Birders conducted their annual winter census on 01/15/2021 for the Lumberton Campus. The weather was hazy sun with temperature in the low to mid 40’s.
Groups led by Robert Koch walked the Lumberton campus and woods in the morning and the Medford campus and woods in the afternoon of December 27, 2020. The day’s highlight was a group of three Bald Eagles, possibly a family, as they perched in the evening light in the trees between Lumberton and Creekview.
It was a great day to count the birds!! Bright and sunny day with calm winds and temperatures ranging from mid-40’s to low 50’s. The usual Winter population of song birds was present although some birds, like the Great Horned Owl seen on consecutive days on its roost, were missing. The variety and number of ducks were also lower than the past few censuses.
We started our count in the community garden area under bright sun and a chilly 24 F. Fortunately it was a dead calm day so the wind-chill factor was negligible. Most of the birds we expected to see were present but there were also unexpected misses.
We began our census under gray skies and cool weather and it remained such throughout. However, it turned out to be a rather birdy morning as we totaled 28 species and 574 individuals.
The 20th Winter Bird Census was conducted on a bright and sunny day with winds increasing through the morning. The high winds might have accounted for the low count of song and woodland birds.
On December 23 2019, the Medford Leas birders contributed a day’s censusing to the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
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. Overall we totaled 30 species on each campus.
The ML Birders had to postpone their count by a day due to inclement weather. However, a late afternoon walk on the count day did garner three raptors and one duck species.
