Sialia currucoides
The Mountain Bluebird is one of three species of bluebirds found on the North American continent. Although it is not restricted to mountains, the Mountain Bluebird is so named because it will nest at high elevations.
In Canada, the Mountain Bluebird breeds in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Yukon. It overwinters in small numbers in British Columbia. There have also been rare winter recordings in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Although tens of thousands of Mountain Bluebirds have been banded over the past decades, fewer than 20 long distance recoveries have been documented since 1939. These recoveries indicate that the Mountain Bluebirds which breed in the Canadian prairie provinces migrate almost straight south, through the Great Plains, to their wintering grounds. Birds banded in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been recovered in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming during the migration period.
ELLIS NATURE CENTRE’S BLUEBIRD TRAIL
Charlie Ellis, often know as “Mr. Bluebird”, looked after 284 bluebird nest boxes by 1981, which consisted of approximately 57 pairs of Mountain Bluebirds and their 300+ fledglings, in addition to 156 pairs of Tree Swallows and their 400+ fledglings. It was also the largest bluebird trail in the world at one point! ENC continues to take care of a bluebird trail to this day, and we also have tours during our summer seasons, which we have been told are unforgettable experiences!
GEOLOCATOR RESEARCH
Dr. Kevin Fraser (University of Manitoba) and Ellis Bird Farm made science history by being the first to deploy geolocators on 20 MOBL and the first to attach RFID tags to a full family of MOBL. The project took place the first week of June 2014 on Brian Bigg’s Louisiana-area bluebird trail.
