The Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society celebrates its 50th anniversary at its annual general meeting on April 6, 2024. (Photo courtesy: MBTCS)

By Justin Goulet

Southern Alberta conservation group celebrates significant milestone

Apr 6, 2024 | 7:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A local conservation group is celebrating its 50^th anniversary.

The Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society will mark the occasion at its annual general meeting on April 6, 2024 at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre.

The group was pioneered by the late Duncan Mackintosh, who started setting out nest boxes in the spring of 1974 in Lethbridge. A year earlier, in 1973, a student from Manitoba attending Lethbridge College brought a bluebird nest box and make a presentation on the impacts of habitat loss to the Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society – which is currently known as Nature Lethbridge.

From this meeting, the Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society Bluebird Project was created with Mackintosh as its coordinator. He was given funds to purchase supplies to build 40 nest boxes.

Mackintosh’s initial design was based on blueprints mainly focused on the Eastern Bluebird.

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After a lack of success, he realized that the boxes were not ideal for the Mountain Bluebird and went to redesign them for the local area. The new design featured a larger hole size, more floor space and thicker plywood walls. Officials say this helped boost the effectiveness of the boxes in supporting Mountain Bluebirds.

By 1978, Mackintosh was named the Trails Operator Manager for the newly-formed North American Bluebird Society. Additionally, he earned a Masters Permit from the federal government and started banding bluebirds.

By 1984, his annual report highlighted that 1,390 nest boxes had been placed, with 304 occupied by Mountain Bluebirds producing 1,931 eggs, of which 1,797 successfully fledged. In total, Mackintosh and 33 volunteers banded 1,293 Mountain Bluebird fledglings and 58 adult bluebirds.

The core group of helpers dubbed itself ‘Mountain Bluebird Trails’, with their efforts extending past southern Alberta and into Montana. Mackintosh led the Alberta group, which was officially named the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society in 1995 when they became a registered charity.

Mackintosh passed away in 1995 and by that time, more than 50 volunteers were caring for thousands of nest boxes spread out over 31,080 square kilometres in southwestern Alberta.

BIRD POPULATION

Officials say that it is estimated that there are 2.9 billion fewer birds in Canada and the United States than in 1970. The society says bird population decline includes common species like sparrows, warblers and bluebirds.

The Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society continues to set up and maintain more than 2,700 next boxes in southern Alberta.

“Our team of 110-plus volunteers maintain a vast network of Mountain Bluebird trails, increasing habitat and restoring the natural range of these beautiful birds,” says president Jim Leitch.

“We rely on support from our members and the community to continue to build, renovate, and maintain cavity nest box habitat that supports thousands of bluebirds each year.”

The group’s annual general meeting is at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre at 1 p.m. on April 6.

The event will include a presentation from biologist, nature writer and photographer Myrna Pearman, who is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

More details are available at the society website.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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