Medford Leas 31st Annual Bird Census, January 10, 2018
Four ML Birders lucked out with a bright, sunny, windless and by mid-morning almost “balmy” day to count the campus birds. Most of the expected birds we commonly see were present
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:
Four ML Birders lucked out with a bright, sunny, windless and by mid-morning almost “balmy” day to count the campus birds. Most of the expected birds we commonly see were present
After two rainy and windy days the ML Birders were able to take their census on a day that, weather wise at least, improved through the morning and ended in bright sun and relatively warm temperatures.
The Medford Leas avian census takers met at the Nature Center on a dreary day for the numerators as well as the objects of their pursuit. The woodland trails were eerily silent with only a scattering of birds seen or heard.
A cold (upper 20’s) sunny but windless day greeted the ML Birders at the start of the count. It was spotty for land birds early on but good for waterfowl.
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.
In February ML birders heard a presentation of Scott McConnell’s new book Witmer Stone, The Fascination of Nature. Witmer Stone was an ornithologist in the early 20th century who wrote Bird Studies in Old Cape May.
The day was cloudy with temperatures in the upper 20 degrees. The ML birders counted 375 individual birds of 31 species on the Lumberton campus and nearby lake.
On January 15, ML birders conducted the 28th annual winter census on a cloudy day with the temperature in the low 30s.
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.
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 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.