Wildlife at Meadowbrook

When Onondaga County's Department of Water Environment Protection improved the drainage of Meadowbrook Creek, it brought welcome relief from flooded basements for the houses along Meadowbrook Drive. It also turned the area into a major amenity for the Meadowbrook-University neighborhood in the eastern part of Syracuse and western DeWitt. Its informal trails and restful landscaping are a green jewel for thousands of neighbors.

Now, the twenty boys of Scout Troop 27—which meets at Rockefeller Methodist Church nearby, have placed six birdhouses in the Meadowbrook drainage area to attract wildlife, including bluebirds. The project began as a conservation project that the older scouts could use to qualify for their 50-Miler Award. The Award requires 10 hours of conservation work and a 50-mile hike. The scouts had completed their hike—at the Philmont Scout Ranch in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. (See photos from the hike.)

Any bluebirds?

Although the houses were designed for bluebirds, none has been documented. But, 114 other species of birds have been sighted in the Meadowbrook drainage area since 1998. Several swallows have taken up residence in the houses, and they are benefiting from the shelter.

You'll notice the many bird calls along with rabbits and even deer when you visit Meadowbrook. And, if you're lucky, you'll see one feathered migrant who won't fit in the houses: a great blue heron.

Scoutmaster and scouts install the birdhouses.

Scoutmasters and builders

Paul Hopkins and Andy Saunder, professors at the SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, helped to coordinate the scouts' work on the birdhouses along with scoutmaster, Tom Beil, and troop committee chairman, Bill Willman. Assistant scoutmaster Chris Knight, who is a contractor, was also involved in the construction project.

This page is dedicated to the memory of Paul Hopkins (1955-2003).