End of Season Nest Box Cleanup & Reporting

It is that time of the year again! The bluebirds, tree swallows and maybe even the wrens (if you have them) have fledged. Now is the time that we, as trail monitors, begin our annual fall cleaning of the bluebird nest boxes.

This is an excellent opportunity to gather bluebird samples for Aaron Veale at the University of Lethbridge for his thesis. Aaron is doing a western bluebird/mountain bluebird hybrid study and is collecting samples to support his hypothesis. Learn more about the project and how you can participate here.

For MBTCS Treasurer Kathy Koenig it was another successful year for their trail of 38 nest boxes on the southern edge of the Porcupine Hills. They had 41 bluebird fledglings - one more than last year! Three of the boxes were used for two clutches of bluebirds - an exciting observation!

So how did your year go? Report your annual MBTCS statistics to our data-master Joe Michielsen so we can compile our annual reporting.

Excerpt from Essential Information for Trail Monitors:

Nest Box Clean Out

Clean out the nest box after the nestlings leave the nest to reduce parasites that collected in the nest material. Ideally a monitor should clean out the old nest immediately after the bluebirds have fledged and before any new nest has been built.

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Amazing Teen Race event assembles nest boxes in Crowsnest Pass

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“Bluebird Man” is a great documentary about Al Larson and Bluebird Recovery