Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Mountain Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring
Nestbox monitoring is a made up of a network of people who volunteer their time to ensure that migratory birds who are cavity nesters (i.e., they make their nests in hollowed out structures like trees) such as mountain bluebirds and tree swallows have suitable habitat available during nesting season. The need for nestboxes became apparent when declining numbers of Mountain Bluebirds were observed in the early 1970’s - this was due to the decline in woodland areas when suburban development accelerated.
The Calgary Area Nestbox Monitors Society ( CANMS ) consists of over 100 monitors looking after over 70 trails with over 5000 nestboxes. Their website contains all sorts of interesting and useful resource material about mountain bluebirds and monitoring a nest box trail.
Making Mountain Bluebird Nestboxes
A couple of years ago I found out that a work colleague was also into birding and that he had a mountain bluebird nest box monitoring run. For those not familiar with this program, it started in the 1970’s when mountain bluebird numbers were on the decline due to loss of nesting habitat. They typically nest in tree cavities at the edge of wooded areas and are quite particular about where they nest.
There is also a lot of competition for nest locations amongst other birds