Bluebird Trail

Mountain Bluebird Trails

Loss of habitat and nest destruction by House Sparrows and European Starlings have contributed to the decline of Mountain Bluebirds.

In 2019, in an effort to help local bluebird populations, Legacy joined with the Rotary Club to develop its first Mountain Bluebird Trail. Together we built and installed 30 nest boxes for Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.

In 2020, we added an additional 30 nest boxes to the same section of trail, pairing the houses to reduce competition between bluebirds and swallows. Some boxes were used by other birds such as House Wrens

Located close to the Little Red Deer River, the Legacy-Rotary Mountain Bluebird Trail includes 60 nest boxes. The trail, some of which is adjacent to Legacy conservation lands, follows approximately 10 km of roadway northeast of Olds, AB.

In 2022 we established the Tribute Trail which includes 25 nest boxes northwest of Old.

Legacy-Rotary Mountain Bluebird Trail

Year
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
TOTAL

Nest
Boxes
30
60
60
60
60
60

Mountain Bluebird Nests
6
11
8
11
14
50

Mountain
Bluebirds Fledged*
16
44
34
32
52
178

Tree Swallow
Nests
16
23
25
23
21
108

Tree Swallows
Fledged*
73
132
73
104
33
415

Legacy-Rotary Annual Reports

Tribute Trail

Year
2022
2023
TOTAL

Nest
Boxes
25
25
25

Mountain Bluebird Nests
4
10
14

Mountain
Bluebirds Fledged*
21
33
54

Tree Swallow
Nests
15
14
29

Tree Swallows
Fledged*
58
27
87

Tribute Trail Annual Reports

*Mountain Bluebirds lay an average of 4 to 6 eggs each year. Not all eggs hatch and not all hatchlings survive. Fledged birds are those that actually leave the nest.

Each spring, volunteer Trail Monitor Ron Reist cleans and repairs the nest boxes. He visits each box several times over the breeding season, recording each species along with the number of eggs, hatchlings and fledglings.

All young birds are banded. Any adult birds that are caught are checked for existing bands and are banded if appropriate. All adults with existing bands are reported to the Banding Office of the Canadian Government (as are all bands each year, a condition of owning a banding permit).

All data collected from our trail is submitted through an online program called NestWatch.org to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University.

This database allows scientists to study the current condition of breeding bird populations and how they may be changing over time as a result of climate change, habitat degradation and loss, expansion of urban areas and the introduction of non-native plants and animals. This is a very worthwhile Citizen Science Project and one that we are keen to support.

Mountain Bluebird Trails

Legacy-Rotary Mountain Bluebird Trail

Tribute Trail

Contact Information

Legacy Land Trust Society

Join The Friends of Legacy

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