1 June 2002
Mountain Bluebird Project – Species Census:
Heading west on the 22X, we turned off on Hwy#758 Secondary
(
Bragg
Creek
Provincial
Park
) Road. Bird box #1 & 2 are
located along a short stretch with pasture land on either side of the road at
this point. Our discovery of Tree
Swallows having inhabited BB#1 and Mountain Bluebirds in BB#2 was encouraging.
The Mountain Bluebirds are in full spring colours at this time – spring
being very late this year. In years
past, we would certainly have found some eggs in the nest by now.
Traveling on we took Hwy#22 north after passing through the
little hamlet of Bragg creek we came to bird box #3; located on the fence line
immediately in front of ‘Camp Kiwanis’.
Tree Swallows have taken up this box as well.
In fact,
boxes
4,5,6,7
, & 8 are all homes to Tree Swallows this year as well – with a
possibility that a Mountain Bluebird pair may still be vying for bird
box #
5
.
Box #
7
& 8 are across the road, approaching
Camp
Gardner
. It quickly became evident that
tree Swallows are in these houses.
Turning back toward
Calgary
on Hwy#8, we traveled a short distance to ‘
Entheos Road
’. Bird boxes 9, 10, & 11 on
the west side of this roadway are all inhabited with Tree Swallows as well. But
at the end of the road there is a manmade dugout; with a fair amount of water in
it this season. Here we spotted a
Yellow-Rumped Warbler; a Least Flycatcher; Kingbirds; Robins; and a Cedar
Waxwing. We also found an old
bluebird box filled to overflowing with the twig nest of a House Wren.
We heard her in the immediate vicinity.
At all of our stops along the way today we spotted Mountain
Bluebirds. There is only one
confirmed pair nesting in our bird boxes this year, but all of the houses have
birds in them!
Our last stop was at the A&W in town for a quick lunch.
