‘Legacy – Rotary’ Bluebird Trail

On Friday May 3 2019 Legacy Land Trust Society dedicated a bluebird trail with the help of Rotary volunteers and the community. This project was first considered by Legacy Land Trust Society as a way of creating habitat for migrating bluebirds in increasingly fragmented landscapes.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, bluebird populations decreased by about 24% between the years of 1966 and 2015. This decline is substantially attributed to loss of habitat. The creation of trails provides bluebirds a supporting environment to increase their populations.  Currently each of the species of bluebird (Mountain Bluebird, Western Bluebird, Eastern Bluebird) is listed as secure in Alberta.

A Bluebird Trail refers to a group of bluebird boxes placed in proximity to each other. Located close to the Little Red Deer River, the “Legacy-Rotary” trail is made of thirty bluebird boxes, branded with the Legacy logo, along approximately 10 kilometers of roadway, some adjacent to Legacy conservation lands.

Rotary volunteers attending the District Conference in Olds, Interact high school students, local bluebird experts and Legacy representatives constructed and installed the nesting boxes.  Oron Johnson and McCrea’s Welding Ltd created the branding iron of the Legacy logo while Olds UFA generously donated the materials and safety equipment.  Ron Reist fabricated the materials and provided direction and shop space.

The project does not end here as the ‘Legacy-Rotary’ trail will be monitored annually. The data collected from these trails can be used by scientists and researchers to help understand, monitor and conserve migrating bluebird populations by providing information on their distribution and movement.