MBTCS News & Updates
Supporting Students Redevelop a Trail in Guernsey State Park, WY
We receive the occasional inquiry about building the ideal nest box for Mountain Bluebirds and are always happy to help as best as we can. Our Trail Master was contacted in early March with questions from Wyoming for a trail redevelopment at Guernsey State Park! He went above and beyond by sending pieces for a sample MBTCS nest box at the end of March.
Spring Orientation a Success
We are happy to report another successful spring orientation took place on Saturday June 5, 2022. There were 13 members present to learn the fundamentals of being a great Trail Monitor with the Mountain Bluebird Conservation Society (MBTCS).
Transfer of Bluebird Trails
Talking your friends into looking after a trail you are no longer able to look after leads to disaster. I regularly encounter this experience and an abandoned trail is often the result.
President’s Spring Report
Spring is finally in the air with the return of the stunning mountain bluebird. We had an early sighting from one of our local members here in Lethbridge on April 2 at the Popson Park picnic shelter. There were also other sightings in other parts of the province as early as mid-March.
A new group of monitors
When teacher Derek Shackleford wanted to discover how his class could help mountain bluebird conservation, he contacted our Trail Master, Steven Shumborski to get the facts. As a result, the class assembled 10 nest boxes from MBTCS supplied parts, and installed them near the school grounds. The nest boxes will be regularly monitored and students will hopefully have the opportunity to see bluebirds, eggs, nestlings and fledglings.
Invest in the future of Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society - donate to our Endowment Fund!
With the support of our amazing supporters we have established an Endowment Fund with the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta! Endowment Fund donations are not linked to a specific initiative or program. These contributions are invested to generate a stable source of revenue. In doing so, they help us build a sustainable future by providing long-term support of our efforts to conserve and restore the natural range of the Mountain Bluebird across Southern Alberta.
Bluebird hybrids: help needed with study
Western bluebird numbers appear to be increasing in southwestern Alberta, which suggests they are expanding their range. As they expand, low starting numbers may force them to breed with the more abundant mountain bluebird and produce hybrids… To ensure we don’t miss any sample opportunities, we need the help of citizen scientists and bird enthusiasts from within the community.
‘Mountain Bluebirds’ short documentary released by Rick Andrews
This short film by MBTCS Trail Monitor Rick Andrews follows a pair of Mountain Bluebirds as they nest and raise a brood of nestlings in the foothills of southern Alberta
Mountain Bluebirds, the ideal farm tenant
Mountain Bluebirds are great neighbours! Bluebirds provide natural pest control. They are insectivorous - which means they love to eat Coleopterans (beetles), Orthopterans (grasshoppers, crickets), Arachnids (spiders), and Lepidopterans (primarily caterpillars), and other insects. They prefer habitat that is sparsely treed grasslands with suitable cavity nest locations.
Less than two months until the Bluebirds return! Are your nest boxes ready?
Mountain Bluebirds return to Southern Alberta as early as the first week of March. Male bluebirds select and lure a partner to a nesting site soon after they arrive. Nest boxes need to be cleaned out and repaired by the end of February in time for their arrival.
Reader’s Digest Feature Post: Saving Canada’s Mountain Bluebird
As a member of the Calgary Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society, Ron Reist maintains more than 480 bluebird boxes along a 250-kilometre round-trip trail.
Oldman Watershed Council Feature Post: There’s a Snake in my Nest Box!
I remember the first time I found a snake in a nest box. Looking back, it was probably a plains garter snake with a distinct yellow stripe from tip to tail, but 12-year-old me didn’t care. I sprinted from the fence line back to the road…
Website Year in Review 2021
Explore highlights from our website’s statistics from 2021! Discover how many visitors explore our website and where they came from. Leave a comment to help us plan our 2022 content.
30 years of Bluebird Monitoring of the Carol Porter Mountain Bluebird Trail at Cypress Hills
In the last 30 years of monitoring of the Carol Porter Trail there have been three seasons with low numbers of bluebirds fledged: 2002, 2009, and 2021. The weather appears to be the main factor in the number of bluebirds fledged.
Congratulations to Pres Winter, Alberta Emerald Award Lifetime Achievement
Pres Winter started The Viking Bluebird Trail in 1977. It began when John Janzen Nature Centre director provided 200 nestboxes. The Bluebird Trail is now more than 1200 boxes spanning 275 miles of country roads in Beaver County.
President’s Fall Report
This has been an extraordinary year for unpredictable weather, with unprecedented heat this past summer. These extreme weather patterns have also taken a toll on the mountain bluebird population. Numbers of returning bluebirds this past spring to nest were down from previous years and in some areas the birds were late in arriving.
Monitoring Bluebirds
It’s been an eventful summer full of learning opportunities for Diane Burt-Stuckey, an MD of Pincher Creek resident. She has been monitoring a trail of mountain bluebird nest boxes through the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society.
Share your MBTCS History
As our 50th anniversary approaches we are asking for you to share your stories, photos, and history of the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society! Help us document our history and the impact over the years.
Spring Orientation a Success!
The Orientation provided a chance to learn about the life cycle of Mountain Bluebirds and what to expect as a Trail Monitor. The three hour morning walkabout was an ideal opportunity to see a working trail, demonstrate technique with practical advice, and see some amazing sights along the way.
Bluebirds in the news!
We are thrilled whenever the topic of Bluebirds makes the news in our region! Here is a wonderful article about the Calgary and Area Nestbox Monitoring Society (CANMS) by Carol Patterson that provides an excellent overview of how being a Trail Monitor is a great activity for any age and any stage.