Bluebird Season
(click on images to view them full size)
It’s That Amazing Time of Year.
This is the busy time of year for the bluebirds and for monitoring their activity - exciting times too. As I’ve mentioned before the bluebirds return from their winter homes in early to mid March and they start building nests in earnest by the beginning of May. Once the nest is built and shaped to a perfect cup the female loses the feathers on her abdomen - called a brood patch - which enables her to transfer maximum body heat to the eggs after she lays them.
Male mountain bluebird looking for lunch for his mate. (EXIF data f5.6, 1/500s, 400mm, ISO20)
Once the nest is finished she starts laying eggs - one a day for 5 - 7 days and two weeks after the last one is laid they start to hatch all on the same day! This is when the real work begins - constant feeding for both the male and the female while the little ones form feathers and grow big enough to fledge from the nest some 18-21 days after hatching. What a an amazing cycle to be able to witness and collect data from.
Nestbox Monitoring Workshop
I’m a member of CANMS (Calgary Area Nestbox Monitoring Society) and each year they hold a workshop for those interested in participating in nestbox montiriong, new trail monitors and seasoned trail monitors. It’s been held at the Leighton Art Centre for the last two years and I can’t sing their praises enough. This group has such a wealth of knowledge from years of collecting data and information about the mountain bluebirds and they are so generous with their time and experience. It’s a joy to spend time listening to them explain the mountain bluebird life cycle and the role that monitors play in this. I’ve attended 2 workshops and learned something new each time.
Bob the Feather Whisperer - holding out a feather for the tree swallows to collect for their nest. (EXIF data f6.3, 1/250s, 300mm, ISO200)
This year Bob demonstrated a feather release technique that he learned from Susanne who gave an excellent presentation this year. He holds a feather up in the air and releases it into the wind as the tree swallows swoop and dive to capture it for their nest. It was such fun to watch their antics with the Feather Whisperer.
Banding Birds
A highlight of the workshop is when Jim demonstrates how they band the birds - mountain bluebirds are migratory birds and protected by law which means that no one is allowed to touch them or take anything from their active nests without a permit. It is a very extensive apprenticeship program to learn how to handle the birds for banding purposes and requires certification and a permit.
Retrieving the female mountain bluebird from the nestbox in preparation for banding. (EXIF data f6.3, 1/200s, 400mm, ISO200)
Jim makes it look so easy, but it’s clear that his approach to handling the birds keeps their stress to a minimum as they don’t struggle or try to escape during the short banding timeframe. The bands are numbered and records are kept so that any birds found with a leg band can be traced back to where they were originally banded. Information on their range and whether they return to the same area each year can be determined from the band information.
As with the monitoring, it just feels good to be able to help gather information to help with the conservation of these amazing birds.
Banding a female mountain bluebird. (EXIF data f6.3, 1/200s, 400mm, ISO200)
My Second Run of the Season
Today was my second run of this season - my first was at the beginning of May when I saw a lot of nest building activity. Today I was rewarded with twenty out of sixty-one nest boxes having confirmed mountain bluebirds nesting, twenty-one with tree swallows and another eight with nests being started (likely tree swallows, but I couldn’t confirm yet).
Five perfect mountain bluebird eggs ready for incubation. (EXIF data iPhone photo)
I counted 76 eggs in the mountain bluebird nest boxes (five of the nest boxes had female mountain bluebirds on the nest, so I couldn’t count these eggs). There are no eggs in the tree swallow nests yet as they are almost a month behind the bluebirds in their nesting activities.
This year I am seeing mountain bluebirds in boxes that have not had nests for the last three years, so this is very exciting.
Camera Time
Female mountain bluebird hovering 2’ above the ground in search of insects. (EXIF data f5.6, 1/1250s, 400mm, ISO200)
In addition to doing my nestbox monitoring, I enjoy taking time to capture interesting images of the bluebirds and other creatures that I see during my monitoring run. Today was pretty special in that I captured a female bluebird hovering about 2 feet above the ground in search of insects. She can either hover and catch insects in flight or hover over a spot and then dive down to capture an insect on the ground.
In contrast the tree swallows capture insects in flight and generally above 8’ off the ground and up. It’s fascinating to see these two species live in harmony without competing for food sources (i.e., the mountain bluebirds hunt from the ground up to about 8’ off the ground and the tree swallows above that level).
Male mountain bluebird against a field of dandelions. (EXIF data f5.6, 1/1250, 400mm, ISO400)
There is one nest box location at the end of the main run that is nestled away from the busy roads and closer to the mountains. It’s in an idyllic location with rolling grassy fields behind it which are bordered by forests. It’s an ideal location for them as there is plenty of open grassland which they love for hunting and also forested area where they can perch and monitor any prey activity. Over the last three years I have not seen any mountain bluebirds in this box - only tree swallows - that is until this year. We have a pair of mountain bluebirds calling this box home and they have laid 6 eggs.
I spent some time today observing them and capturing their antics against the dandelion filled fields behind their box. A great way to spend some time with my camera.
Dark morph Swainson Hawk taking off from a tree branch. (EXIF data f6.3, 400mm, 1/1250s, ISO400)
I also managed to spot some other interesting birds along the way including a dark morph Swainson Hawk and a Wilson’s phalarope. The hawk was sitting in a tree and suddenly took flight towards me.
It’s always interesting to see what shows up on my nestbox run.
Wilson’s Phalarope wading in the marsh. (EXIF data f5.6, 1/500s, 400mm, ISO200)
The Cycle of Life
I enjoy being able to observe the nesting cycle of these birds and I’m a little sad that I will miss a good chunk of it this year due to travelling. However my nestbox monitoring partner will cover for me while I’m away and the birds will continue to grow and thrive whether we’re tracking their progress or not - nature is amazing.
Do you enjoy spending time watching the life cycles of birds or animals? If so I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or drop me a note by clicking on the Connect With Me button.
Male and female mountain bluebirds perched on a tree branch. (EXIF data f5.6, 1/1250s, 400mm, ISO800)
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
