Calgary Area Nestbox Monitors` Annual Report 2012

Calgary Area Nest-box Monitors
Annual Report 2012
Edited by Bill Taylor ([email protected]) and Don Stiles ([email protected])
Bluebirds Flying Higher
It was an excellent year for both target species, Mountain Bluebirds (MOBL) and Trees Swallows
(TRES). Although not the most fledglings ever for either species, we should be encouraged by our
efforts. There were 58 monitors or monitor teams who checked 4,333 boxes. The number of boxes
was down from last year (4,803) due to a number of retirements, and due to illnesses or absences
during the monitoring season. This accounted for 610 boxes, whose contents might well have raised
our totals to record numbers.
Much concern was raised during the summer about vandalized boxes. This affected 71 boxes. A
further 93 suffered predation from an unknown source. See the section on Nest Failures.
We have reorganized the presentation of monitoring results and trail details to reflect the quadrants
we monitor: north or south of the Bow River, and west or east of Highway #2.
Contents:










Statistical results
Monitors, trails, and boxes
Individual results by quadrant
Fledglings to boxes
Nest failures
Banding and banders
Stories
Retirements, monitor changes
Significant recoveries
Cross-trail recoveries
Photo: F. Oosman, Highway 549 west
Monitors, Trails, and Boxes
page 2
1. North of Bow River and West of Highway 2
Monitors
Location
#
boxes
Km
trail
Km
rnd
trip
Empty
boxes
Lynda Alderman, V. Smith
Darrel Bender
Susan Church
Don Crane
Bob Derbowka
Jean Dunn
Walt Glanville
Diana Halladay
Jean Kaiser
Bottrel
Westbrook to Cochrane
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park
NW Dogpound
Sundre Loop
Beaverdam Creek
E of Water Valley
North of Sundre
35 m. W of Innisfail
Orville Lammle, JD Waddell
Hwy 1A; Beaupre Ck Rd; Hwy 940; R60
Johanna McCool
P. Mitchell, E Kanagawa
D. Nichol, I. Dowdell
Isabelle Orr, Susie Spenst
Colleen Rittwage
Myrna, Jerry Sentes
Rudy, Margaret Sieb
Gwen Simpson
Dick Stauffer
Les Stegenga
Bill Taylor
Ed Tischer
Anne, Bryne Weerstra
Donna Wieckowski
Ray, Agnes Woods
Total
Dogpound
100
36
28
69
72
62
69
179
10
74
35
63
32
90
16
46
8
12
269
72
4
50
74
33
96
1599
20
34
5
11
52
15
34
200
3
48
11
96
25
25
3
20
13
5
100
62
1
14
16
14
77
904
70
65
?
107
220
110
168
240
6
80
112
302
130
40
?
70
22
24
?
120
180
150
31
136
235
2618
12
9
5
3
3
4
5
8
3
1
1
8
6
9
0
4
0
1
37
8
2
2
6
1
2
140
Photo: Chris Seaver
Photo: Marie Donohue
Big Hill Springs; Hwy 22: Wstbrk – Water Vly
Horse Creek Rd, T280 to T292
West of Airdrie
Foxdale Farm
Hwy 22 N from Hwy 567 to T 280; T 272
Bearspaw
Cochrane N and E
SW of Olds
NE and NW of Cochrane
GD Ranch N of Water Valley
Cremona to Water Valley
Jamieson Road
Hwy766:T284 to T292; T 292 w to R35
E of Elkton
Monitors, Trails, and Boxes
Page 3
2. South of Bow River and West of Highway #2
Monitors 2012
Location
#
boxes
Km
trail
Km
Rnd
Trip
Empty
boxes
Jack, Karen Borno
Lyn Brown/Kim Burns
Don Conrad
Nancy Davis
Bob Derbowka
Brian Exton
Ken, Linda Fry
Terry Galvon
Matt Ginn
Walter, Doreen Gruszecki
Jennifer Hilborne
Andrew, Mavis Holder
Mike, Mary Jane Hunter
Marijke, Wim Jalink
Vivian Johnson
Sue, Kaya Konopnicki
Ursula Krol
Dianne Leonhardt
& Jr. Forest Wardens
Susanne Maidment
Gary McGonigle
Shonna McLeod
Jean, Wayne Moore
El Peterson, B. Wilson
Jill Prendergast
Duncan, Nancy Rand
Mike Risely
D Robertson, C Troy
Don, Andrew Stiles
Bill Taylor
Jane Toews
Barry Trakalo, Joan Bruce
Mike Truch
Total SW
T244 W of Hwy22; Ridge Rd N to Hwy1
Hartell
Longview to Chain Lakes; W of Nanton
Sibbald Creek Trail
Country Hills Golf Course
Plummers Rd; Priddis Valley Rd.
Priddis Store – S and W
Turner Valley
Jumping Pound W
DeWinton Gun Club
Millarville
Hwy22X E of Priddis; Canmore GC
Royalties, Longview, Springbank
Millarville W & NW 2 trails
Hwy 546 W of Turner Valley
Redwood Meadows NE
224 St, 274 Ave - old George Loades trail
192 St, Hwy 22X S to 274 Ave
Red Deer Lake to Millarville Church
Jumping Pound S, W of Hwy 22, S of T244
Turner Valley Golf Course
Leighton Centre
Pinebrook, Edenbrook; 101 St; 17 Ave SW
Hwy541 W of Longview
48
49
256
80
76
56
93
42
77
40
48
61
95
77
41
33
35
33
78
86
45
77
21
130
25
84
46
59
33
159
12
106
81
2282
12
?
70
13
?
17
42
7
15
3
16
24
21
11
14
20
?
10
22
16
?
50
6
30
2
60
5
20
24
31
5
27
32
625
158
?
240
36
?
77
122
183
?
75
101
250
240
100
29
65
?
100
105
100
?
100
25
225
?
100
30
40
56
210
24
100
234
3125
2
0
14
7
?
0
5
0
11
8
0
13
8
10
0
0
0
0
3
0
6
1
2
15
1
21
6
3
2
25
2
4
1
170
Millarville
around Priddis and East of Black Diamond
S of DeWinton &274 Ave, betw Meridian St & 16 St
338 Ave W of Hwy 22, 256 Street
Red Deer Lake
DeWinton to Turner Valley; SW Longview
NW of Hwy 546 ½ km W of Turner Valley
Red Deer Lake to Millarville Race track
Meridian Road, Hwy 533
The record for MOBL at 9 years old is one of our Calgary Area birds, 8051-94711 banded by Isabelle Orr
as an adult in 1997, and recovered in 2005.
Isabelle also recaptured this bird in 2004 as an 8 year old. As a 9 year old her eggs didn’t hatch.
Monitors, Trails, and Boxes
Page 4
3. North of the Bow River and East of Highway #2
Monitor
Location
Number of
boxes
Ted Koziel
Rockyford & Redland 38
Ron Reist
East of Olds
398
Don, Andrew Stiles East Didsbury
92
Total NE
528
Km of
trail
11
200
78
289
Km of
Round Trip
220
250
260
730
Empty
Boxes
6
55
5
66
Total NW
1599
904
2618
140
Total SW
2206
625
3125
170
Grand Total
4333
1818
6473
376
Fifty-eight monitors or monitor teams cover 62 trails ranging from well south of Longview to Olds. Most
of the trails are west of Highway #2. Each “trail” averages 70 boxes and averages about 6 empty boxes
or about 8% of the boxes. Ideally we want all boxes to be occupied by our target species. Ones that
have been empty for several years should be relocated.
Four of the trails have not had their length (from first to last box) reported. Of the rest the average
length is 31 km. This would suggest that those average 70 boxes on a trail are placed slightly more than
2 per km. There is plenty of room for more boxes!
Nine monitors have not yet reported the round trip they need to cover their trails and return home. So
the average round trip for the rest of the monitors is 132 km. When you consider that most monitors
will likely visit their trails a minimum of 3 times (and some as often a 8 times), our monitors contribute
to the Alberta gasoline distributors to the tune of 19419 km worth of gas. If an average tank fill up is 45
litres…. Well you do the math! Our “hobby” is not inexpensive!
We are indeed fortunate to have such a large number of devoted monitors. The over 4,000 boxes we
have put in place in the last 20 years have contributed significantly to the growth in population of
Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows in the Calgary area. We can all be
proud of our contributions. Our work, of course, is supplemented by at least
two other organizations in Alberta – the southern group centred in
Lethbridge, and a northern group NE of Red Deer. You may wish to check out
their websites:
Photos: left F. Oosman
right: J. Borno
Photos 1
page 5
Jack Borno
captured
this sequence:
Two routes had hatchlings with deformed beaks: Left on Bill Taylor’s route, photo by Wendy Cartwright.
Right on Diana Halladay`s route. Both fledged.
Barry Trakalo encountered
cowbird parasitism in this tree swallow nest.
The TRES hatchlings did not
hatch.
Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows Results 2012 NW Quadrant
page 6
Attempts, Eggs, Successful nests, Nestlings, Fledglings, Total
MOBL – First brood
Second (late) brood
Monitor
Alderman
Bender
Church
Crane
Derbowka
Dunn
Glanville
Halladay
Kaiser
Lammle
McCool
Mitchell
Nichol
Orr
Rittwage
Sentes
Sieb
Simpson
Stauffer
Stegenga
Taylor
Tischer
Weerstra
Wieckowski
Woods
A
27
4
1
14
26
22
34
39
3
28
10
11
15
10
3
5
3
2
22
33
1
18
16
8
32
E
148
26
5
60
153
115
163
212
16
159
59
55
55
56
18
31
20
10
119
182
6
97
86
42
182
S
25
4
1
14
26
17
34
39
3
26
9
10
13
9
2
5
3
2
20
33
0
17
15
6
28
N
132
23
5
60
153
86
149
189
15
140
59
48
47
48
11
30
12
10
107
163
0
87
78
30
154
F
122
20
5
60
152
81
146
182
15
136
59
45
39
48
11
30
12
10
103
152
0
83
72
28
145
A
4
0
0
3
2
8
6
7
0
4
0
2
7
0
0
2
2
1
1
2
1
5
3
1
4
E
18
0
0
15
11
39
26
24
0
19
0
9
12
0
0
11
9
5
5
8
5
18
13
4
14
S
4
0
0
3
1
8
5
6
0
4
0
2
6
0
0
2
2
1
1
2
1
5
0
1
3
Total
4
0
4
2
1
7
9
3
7
6
1
9
2
6
1
8
4
0
6
5
2
6
5
5 2
7 1
7
Photo: Chris Seaver
Photo: Ron Reist
N
18
0
0
14
5
33
26
17
0
19
0
8
9
0
0
9
5
5
5
7
5
17
0
4
11
TRES
F
18
0
0
14
5
33
23
17
0
15
0
5
7
0
0
9
5
5
5
7
5
13
0
4
10
T
140
20
5
74
157
114
169
199
15
151
59
50
46
48
11
39
17
15
108
159
5
96
72
32
155
A
58
21
19
49
84
33
36
131
4
48
24
40
18
67
11
36
5
9
130
32
1
28
43
29
62
E
333
114
104
240
489
187
194
801
24
282
122
249
67
416
70
218
28
54
762
180
7
148
234
121
399
S
58
21
17
49
81
29
36
130
4
43
22
37
15
56
10
35
5
9
128
32
1
26
33
13
59
N
303
103
88
216
458
153
191
702
24
226
122
209
29
323
63
213
25
54
754
179
7
131
203
84
390
F
292
94
80
205
437
151
188
654
24
202
122
199
26
308
63
207
0
54
748
176
7
125
164
64
359
2
0
0
2
0
4
0
1
0
0
4
5
7
6
8
9
3
6
5
1
7
5
4
8
9
2
Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows 2012 Results SW Quadrant
Page 7
Attempts*, Eggs, Successful nests*, Nestlings, Fledglings, Total
MOBL – First brood
Second (late) brood
TRES
Monitor
A
E
S
N
F
A
E
S
N
F
T
A
E
S
N
F
Borno
Brown.Burns
Conrad
Davis
Exton
Fry
Galvon
Ginn
Gruszecki
Hilborne
Holder
Hunter
Jalink
Johnson
Konopnicki
Krol
Leonhardt
Jr.For. Wdns
Maidment
McGonigle
McLeod
Moore
Peterson
Prendergast
Rand
Risely
Robertson
Stiles
Taylor
Toews
Trakalo
Truch
Total SW
12
14
82
18
25
27
10
37
2
18
14
33
25
19
10
24
14
12
32
0
52
4
60
5
22
6
38
8
26
1
33
33
7
1
5
69
80
498
102
132
131
48
207
6
106
82
193
142
85
60
72
77
69
170
0
169
23
355
31
95
33
205
45
143
4
185
190
3
8
1
8
10
12
67
14
24
20
9
27
1
17
13
26
18
18
10
22
14
12
30
0
29
3
60
5
18
5
36
7
22
1
27
32
6
1
1
54
74
399
68
110
118
42
147
5
91
72
167
120
82
51
72
77
68
147
0
154
18
339
28
87
28
177
39
121
4
142
173
3
2
9
1
48
68
371
61
98
105
42
141
5
76
68
153
98
80
51
72
77
68
138
0
147
17
339
28
87
26
175
34
121
4
142
164
3
1
1
6
5
2
21
2
7
7
2
7
0
3
7
7
4
0
4
7
1
1
6
0
7
1
8
0
1
0
8
2
10
0
4
3
1
3
6
26
7
92
11
28
32
11
31
0
14
31
32
19
0
23
21
4
4
29
0
41
4
32
0
5
0
38
10
44
0
17
13
6
1
3
3
2
16
2
7
7
2
7
0
3
7
4
4
0
4
6
0
1
5
0
7
1
7
0
1
0
5
2
8
0
2
2
1
3
4
15
7
58
11
20
29
9
27
0
10
24
23
16
0
20
21
0
4
22
0
34
3
26
0
5
0
19
7
35
0
8
6
4
5
4
13
7
49
11
19
29
8
26
0
10
22
9
16
0
20
21
0
4
21
0
34
3
26
0
5
0
18
7
35
0
8
6
4
2
2
61
75
420
72
117
134
50
167
5
86
90
162
114
80
71
93
77
72
159
0
181
20
365
28
92
26
193
41
156
4
150
170
3
5
3
8
40
29
150
53
37
70
32
38
28
38
31
53
41
25
29
6
23
63
54
33
54
13
67
19
34
19
29
22
100
9
79
60
1
4
4
7
229
141
817
275
214
403
194
225
146
187
181
325
244
187
150
30
128
367
313
151
291
75
362
122
187
66
141
126
550
37
433
342
8
0
2
5
37
28
138
47
37
62
32
35
26
28
29
47
34
23
25
6
18
55
53
30
48
8
63
19
34
16
27
20
81
7
70
55
1
2
9
7
223
138
741
270
176
329
170
203
138
140
150
278
217
187
143
30
99
326
274
134
225
51
319
118
173
60
132
103
439
25
365
293
7
0
2
0
206
136
693
260
157
297
158
195
132
129
140
252
174
177
137
27
94
288
233
131
211
49
311
118
173
54
129
97
400
25
357
283
6
5
1
6
*A nest ATTEMPT means at least one egg has been laid. A SUCCESSFUL nest means at least one
nestling fledged.
Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows Results 2012 NE Quadrant and Grand Totals
Page 8
Attempts, Eggs, Successful nests, Nestlings, Fledglings, Total
MOBL – First brood
Second (late) brood
TRES
Monitor A
E
S
N
F
A
E
S
N
F
T
A
E
S
N
F
Koziel
Reist
Stiles
0
88
21
0
487
116
0
72
21
0
367
108
0
354
106
0
30
8
0
145
41
0
23
8
0
98
34
0
97
34
0
451
140
29
273
73
190
1737
452
28
260
68
161
1457
377
154
1439
375
Total NE
109
603
93
475
460
38
186
31
132
131
591
375
2379
356
1995
1968
Total NW
404
2179
376
1926
1840
65
265
57
217
200
2040
1004
5768
936
5175
4892
Total SW
715
3818
611
3291
3116
136
613
134
454
422
3538
1447
8025
1297
7020
6616
Total 2012
1228
6600
1080
5692
5416
239
1064
222
803
753
6169
2826
16172
2589
14190
13376
Total 2011
1112
6012
984
5184
4792
96
391
68
292
261
5053
2951
16958
2686
14930
13911
Analyzing the above we have:
Successful nests per
Attempt
Eggs per attempt
(=average clutch size)
Nestlings per eggs
Fledglings per nestlings
MOBL – 1st brood
0.879
MOBL – 2nd brood
0.929
TRES
0.916
5.375
4.452
5.723
0.862
0.952
0.755
0.938
0.877
0.943
The second (or late) MOBL clutches are about 1 egg smaller than the first clutch (4.6 against 5.4), but the
first broods have better success in hatching nestlings (86% against 76%). TRES clutches are larger than
MOBL clutches. MOBL first broods have the best results in fledging the nestlings (95% against 94 % for
TRES and second brood MOBL.) Terrific number of second brood MOBL this year!
Our total of MOBL fledglings was about 22 % higher than last year. It was a very good year for MOBL,
ranking 2012 as the 6th best year for MOBL. We hope it is the start of an upward trend. Although TRES
fledglings were less than 2011, it was still the 4th best year ever:
Mountain Bluebirds






2006
2004
2005
2007
1999
2012
8405 fledglings
7340
6733
6295
6263
6169
Tree Swallows
2011
2009
2007
2012
13,911 fledglings
13,518
13,421
13,376
Photo: Pat Sullivan
Fledglings to Boxes

Page 9
The following chart and table provide numbers of boxes, and fledglings for both target species.
The ratio (Fledglings to Boxes) is one measure of our success that we have used since we began
keeping records. (It could be misleading as the ratios do NOT indicate the actual sizes of the
average clutches. See page 8 for clutch sizes.)
Ratio
Fledglings to Boxes
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
Series1
Series2
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Year
Fledglings
to Boxes
Year
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Swallows
3772
4728
5182
6568
6963
8036
6932
2616
7368
6988
7568
9052
8636
9307
11266
13421
12716
13518
10680
13911
13376
Ratios
Bluebirds
5433
5217
4168
4813
3988
3778
5250
6263
5632
4650
5370
5005
7340
6733
8405
6295
5522
5207
5354
5053
6169
Boxes
2347
2601
2427
2783
2721
2942
2620
3247
3113
3070
3681
3570
3916
4016
4193
4585
4323
4539
4734
4803
4333
Year
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Swallows
1.61
1.82
2.14
2.36
2.56
2.73
2.65
0.81
2.37
2.28
2.06
2.54
2.21
2.32
2.69
2.93
2.94
2.98
2.26
2.90
3.09
Bluebirds
2.31
2.01
1.72
1.73
1.47
1.28
2.00
1.93
1.81
1.51
1.46
1.40
1.87
1.68
2.00
1.37
1.28
1.15
1.13
1.05
1.42













New Monitor
Retiring Monitor
Trail Location
Page 10
Ursula Krol
Cyndi Jacob
Priddis/Millarville area
Jane Toews )
George and Charlotte Clark
Susan Feil )
NW of Turner Valley
Susan Church
)
New trail at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park
Heather Simonds )
Margaret and Rudy Sieb - have reinstated their trail at Bearspaw after one year of not
monitoring
Retiring Monitors
Ray Harris – Ray has been a very active monitor since 1982, first with the Lethbridge group and since 2007
with our group. For a few years, he was president of the North American Bluebird Society. He monitored
136 nestboxes on three trails north of Pincher Creek, one along Beaver Creek where his residence is, one
along Heath Creek and one at Maycroft along the Old Man River.
Ray Hummel – Ray’s trail was in the Drumheller area, mostly along roads on both sides of the Red Deer
River northwest from his residence in East Coulee. He began monitoring in 1989 and most years from
1992 to 2009 he had around 200 nest-boxes.
Rescue Effort
When Isabelle (Isy) Orr and Susie Spenst opened a bluebird nest they found a female bluebird that they
couldn’t lift off the nest to check for a band as usual. They found that the female was stuck in the nest
with baling twine wrapped around one of her feet. They were able to cut the twine loose from the bird
and then band her. They were surprised how calm she was. She flew to the next fence post and watched
them. The nest included a piece of plastic, thistle leaves and the baling twine as well as grass. As there
was poop on the eggs, she must have been trapped in the nest for a number of days, and the male must
have been feeding her. They cleaned off the eggs the best they could and replaced the nest with a last
year’s nest they had in their car.
There were 5 eggs to start with. Three of them hatched and then fledged OK, so Isy and Susie’s rescue
effort worked!
Banders 2012
Mountain Bluebirds
Page 11
Tree Swallows
Monitor
Young Adults Total Young Adults Total
Borno
48
3
51
0
0
0
Conrad
437
31
468
430
0
430
Davis
72
5
77
0
0
0
Exton
0
0
0
89
1
90
Ginn
28
15
43
7
3
10
Glanville
112
0
112
0
0
0
Holder
33
9
42
54
15
69
Hunter
158
13
171
178
22
200
Jalink
121
5
126
197
12
209
Konopnicki
0
1
1
39
4
43
Krol
0
6
6
0
5
5
Maidment
168
7
175
84
12
96
McLeod
181
23
204
211
60
271
Mitchell
21
2
23
72
21
93
Orr
48
5
53
153
22
175
Prendergast
0
1
1
0
0
0
Rand
73
0
73
0
0
0
Rathburn*
234
48
282
0
0
0
Reist
425
33
458
543
126
669
Risely
0
0
0
28
0
28
Stauffer
91
9
100
209
39
248
Stegenga
121
0
121
0
0
0
Stiles
108
11
119
255
48
303
Taylor
160
12
172
387
35
422
Trakalo
140
3
143
72
27
99
Truch
169
5
174
287
41
328
Weerstra
0
2
2
0
22
22
Wieckowski
10
0
10
0
2
2
Woods
135
22
157
0
27
27
Total
3096
270
3366 3295
544
3839
 Includes 1 EABL adult
Twenty-nine of our monitors also band their own birds. One of the great pleasures of doing so is
recapturing a previously banded bird. Often birds will return to the area where they were first banded,
but they do “wander” from time to time. That they can return so close – often to the same box – is
good testimony to the miracle of migration. Using visual clues by day, star patterns by night, and the
earth’s magnetic field as well (they have minute amounts of magnetite in their heads) they can retrace a
southward migration to the north in the spring. To become a bander speak to Bill or Don.
Occasionally we capture an Eastern or Western Bluebird, although they are not normally found in our
area. Melanie Rathburn (doing a long term scientific study) banded an EABL this year.
Banding Recovery Highlights 2012
Page 12
MOBL recoveries were up slightly at 197 compared to last year’s 186, and TRES recoveries were up at
236 from last year’s 217. Our main contributor for recoveries is Ron Reist, who monitors 412 nestboxes
east of Olds. He recovered 50 MOBL (18 banded as adults, 32 as young) and 108 TRES (106 banded as
adults and only 2 as young). See Table 1 – Summary of 2012 Recoveries for distance moved, whether
banded as an adult or young, and age distribution.
The term recovery is a generic term which describes when a bird with a band is found, whether alive or
dead. Almost all of the birds mentioned will have been recaptured alive and released.
Long Distance Bluebird Recoveries
8 long distance MOBL recoveries in 2012 are listed below. 4 were banded as young in 2011, 2 in 2010
and 1 in 2008; and 1 as an adult in 2011. Details follow:
2261-76529 was banded as a young in 2008 by Don Conrad S of Longview on Hwy 532 W of Hwy 22 and
recovered by Dick Stauffer W of Olds – moved 162 km (100 mi) N.
2231-83514 was banded as young in 2010 by Ray Harris north of Pincher Creek and recovered by Barry
Trakalo NE of Millarville – moved about 136 km (84 mi) NNW.
2431-96557 was banded as a young in 2011 by Nancy Rand SE of Black Diamond and recovered by Gwen
Tietz S of the Shell Pincher Creek Gas Plant – moved about 125 km (78 mi) S.
2261-75572 was banded as a young in 2010 by Ray Woods in the Elkton area W of Didsbury and
recovered by Shonna McLeod near Leighton Centre SW of Calgary – moved 96 km (60 mi) S.
2541-75704 was banded as a young in 2011 by Mary Jane Hunter in the Springbank area and recovered
by Ron Reist east of Olds – moved 89 km (55 mi) NNE.
2431-91991 was banded as an adult female in 2011 by Don Conrad on Hwy 533 SW of Nanton and
recovered by Ray Harris N of Pincher Creek, moved about 62 km (38 mi) S.
Mary Jane Hunter recovered two MOBL on Hwy 541 W of Longview, both banded as young in 2011, one
by Mike Truch SW of Nanton moved about 39 km (24 mi) NNW, and the second by Bill Taylor N of
Okotoks moved about 30 km (18 mi) SW.
Long Distance Tree Swallow Recoveries
2401-94155 banded as a young in 2011 by Marijke Jalink W of Millarville and recovered by Ron Reist E of
Olds – moved 125 km (77 mi) NNE.
2401-94579 banded as a young in 2011 by Dick Stauffer W of Olds and recovered by Bill Taylor SE of
Millarville – moved 110 km (68 mi) S.
2321-97408 banded as a young in 2009 by George Loades in the Priddis area and recovered by Dick
Stauffer in the Olds area – moved 110 km (68 mi) NNE.
MOBL Recovered Again
Page 13
Several monitors reported MOBL which had moved significant distances in 2011 or 2010 and then had
stayed in the same box or nearby in 2012. Five of those which moved longer distances are reported
below.
Bob Danner of Edmonton recovered 2291-35638 in 2011 twelve miles SW of Leduc. This bird was
banded as a young in 2008 by Ron Reist east of Olds and moved about 145 km (90 mi) N. Bob
recovered this bird again in 2012 in an adjacent box, 400 m away.
Dick Stauffer recovered 2231-14220 in the Olds area in the same box in 2011 and 2012. It was banded
as a young in 2009 in the Ponoka area by Murray Mackay and moved 108 km (67 mi) SSW to Dick’s trail.
Melanie Rathburn recovered 2291-35877 in her box K7 in 2010. It was banded by Dick Stauffer of Olds
as a young in 2009 and moved 102 km (63 mi) S. Melanie recovered it again in 2012 in the adjacent box
K8.
Diana Halladay recovered two MOBL in 2012 in the same boxes where she had recovered them in 2011
on her trail NW of Olds. 2261-84743 was banded as a young in 2009 by Shonna McLeod, having moved
127 km (79 mi) N. 2431-96221 was banded as a young in 2010 by Ron Reist, having moved 27.3 km (17
mi) WNW.
Oldest Birds
MOBL 1791-21984 was banded as a young by Barry Trakalo on June 13, 2004. It moved about 5.6 km NE
to Don Stiles trail in 2005, and then in 2006 it moved 3.6 km SW to Shonna McLeod’s trail in her box W2,
back towards where it was banded. It was found again in 2012 by Shonna in her adjacent box W1.
This makes it 8 years old, a good longevity record. We have only recaptured one 8 year old MOBL
previously.
TRES 1921-26238 was banded as a young in 2004 by George Loades in the Jumping Pound area. It was
found dead in the spring of 2012 by Susanne Maidment while checking boxes. “Due to the condition of
the body, it probably died late last fall.” This would suggest it probably died of old age at the age of 7.
We don’t have a record of previous recoveries of this bird, or the box number where it was banded, but
our records show it was banded in the same area.
TRES 1921-27810 was banded as a young in 2005 by Bill Taylor, making it 7 years old. He recaptured it
in the same box in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Birds recovered on adjacent trails
Don Conrad and Kirk Davis recovered several of each others MOBLs. Don Conrad’s trail is SW of Nanton,
and Kirk Davis’s trail is W of Stavely. Kirk reports his statistics to the Lethbridge group. He took over this
trail from Brian Keeling in 2011. Don Conrad recovered 4 MOBL, all banded as young in 2010 by Brian
Keeling. These moved distances of from 8 to 12 km, mostly N. Kirk Davis recovered 3 MOBL banded as
young (2 in 2011, 1 in 2009) by Don Conrad. These moved distances of from 7 to 15 km, mostly S.
Birds banded as adults returned to the same box
Page 14
Ray Woods, Anne Weerstra, and Dick Stauffer all recovered three MOBL banded as adults which
returned to the same box where they were banded. Years when the birds were banded were RW 2011
– 1, 2010 – 2; AW 2011 – 3; DS 2011 - 1, 2009 – 2.
Andrew Holder recaptured three TRES, all banded as adults and all returned to the same box where they
were banded, one in 2009, one in 2010 and one in 2011.
Two Species in one box
Shonna McLeod banded MOBL 1431-73167 and TRES 1911-55787 as adults in 2011 in her box C41 in the
Priddis area. In 2012 both birds were also recovered in the same box. The TRES had taken over the
nestbox from the MOBL. This happens occasionally on Calgary area trails, but it is believed to be the
first time it has happened to the same two birds in the same box in two seasons.
Photo Nick Straub
Photo: Jack Borno
Members of the Public
Treva Felzren found TRES 2401-94546 dead in a nestbox near Bentley. It was banded as a young in 2011
by Dick Stauffer SW of Olds. This bird moved about 83 km (51 mi) N.
Henk de Jonge found MOBL 2431-96566 dead, caught by cat “in front of barn at home”. It had moved
4.5 km NE from where it was banded as a young in 2011 by Nancy Rand SE of Black Diamond.
Tara Conroy found 2261-78875, a male MOBL dead on her deck on April 27, due to a window strike. It
was banded as a young in 2010 by Barry Trakalo, and moved about 10 km SSW.
Nigel Warren found a dead female MOBL at his acreage at Hwy 773 and 265 Ave on Sept. 15 due to a
window strike. It was a young of the year, banded by Barry Trakalo on May 27, 2012, and moved 5.3 km
(3.3 mi) NE.
Thanks to Don Stiles who keeps track of all bands issued, and all recoveries.
Nest Failures
Page 15
Predation - unknown
Weasel
Cat
Ants
Bears
Mice
Coyote/Fox or Raccoon
Vandalism - human
Animal (Cow, Moose, Elk)
Weather
Abandonment, adults known dead
Traffic, Construction, Fence removal
Parasites
Unknown cause
SW Quadrant
70 nests
8
1
4
2
1
5
11
10
54
8
2
16
NW and NE Quadrants
23 nests
1
3
7
36
14
12
15
16
4
12
Photo: Wim Jalink
The above does NOT include those cases of House Wrens, House Sparrows, or Tree Swallows who may
have taken over a nest before original occupants fledged. (See chart below.)
Most of the “unknown predation” consisted of the bottoms pushed up and the contents removed. In
past years we have often blamed raccoons for this, but Ray Woods and others have suggested that
coyotes may well be the culprits. Those monitors who have screwed in the bottoms have noted that
the predation was less than before. Weasels will usually leave the corpses in the box. Cats will usually
leave the corpse near the box. We presume that the unknown predator has taken the edible nest
contents with him or her, as few monitors have recorded the presence of fledgling remains.
Weather was much more significant in the south this year than in the north. However, the north seems
to have more losses due to construction or fence removal. Do we need to write to our municipalities to
recommend NO such construction during May, June and July?
There were 56 House Sparrow nests and 144 House Wren nests – similar to last year.
Wren and Sparrow Nests
Totals
250
200
150
100
50
0
Wrens
Year
The Predation/Vandalism Concern
Page 16
Donna Wieckowski: The next 11 boxes were tampered with. Either the bottom was removed and the
nests and eggs strewn on the ground or the bottoms were tipped up on their side and any nest was
tipped up too - if there were eggs in them we found them on the ground. I reset the nests in the boxes
that only had them tipped up inside the box so maybe the TRES can reuse them even though all the eggs
had fallen out. All the eggs were whole so, to me, that rules out predators.
Lyn Brown: Our trail is west of Hartell, which is north of Longview. Yesterday, out of our 49 boxes 13
nest have been tampered with/destroyed in the last 2 weeks. In one case the box had been ripped off
the post, but was still intact with (barely alive) babies. Lots of grass trampling both sides of the fence. In
a couple others the nests were sideways in the box, one with brand new hatchlings still alive.
Don Crane: Today I spent a lot of time visiting farmers, workers and the MD employees along my B.B.
route. As reported in mid-June many boxes had been ' vandalized' with the bottoms tipped up.
I talked with twelve nearby farm families about the style of box disruption. Not one had seen or found a
raccoon in the area, but two thought there was one sighted in Madden and another in Cremona many
miles away. Nothing proven. Chicken coops OK.
They said that they had never seen human vandalism on their property but some unusual quod tracks,
probably made by young fellows, were in ditches. No activity by those was seen near boxes.
Jennifer Hilborne: This was is the story I've put together on the destroyed nests. I was out on my trail
yesterday which is west and slightly north of Millarville, between Hwy 22 and 256 St.
A farmer was out haying and I asked about racoons - he hasn't seen any for about 3 years but he just
found a decaying bear in his field. All but one of the nests that were destroyed were around this field.
The week before I spoke to another property owner (corner of 224 St. and 302 Ave.) and he claims to
have had a cougar trying to get under his deck. There are what looks like long scratch marks and
splintered wood. A friend of his living near Priddis, did actually see a cougar coming down her driveway!
One last thing, I have seen quad tracks in a ditch but not near the destroyed nests.
Marijke Jalink-Wibrans: All farmers along our trail hate raccoons and will try to terminate them. The last
three were a question mark, it wasn’t done by a raccoon or coyote or human, we discussed it with
owners of the property where we have boxes along their drive way. Well, Diane saw a young Black Bear
in her beautiful garden and we knew who was the culprit!
These are just a sampling of many observations emailed by monitors. Thank you for all your comments.
I wish I could include them all! We have possible human vandalism, possible predation by raccoons,
foxes, cougars, bears. The most common suggestion was the coyotes may have learned to push up the
bottoms of the boxes. Screwing in the bottoms seems to be very effective:
Deb Nichol: I think because we screwed all the bottoms in, so we didn't lose any to predators early this
year!
Table 1 - Summary of 2012 Recoveries
•Distance Moved
Mountai
n
Bluebird
s
(MOBL)
Ron
Reist
Don
Conrad
Melanie
Rathburn
Shonna
McLeod
Susanne
Maidme
nt
Matt
Ginn
Mike
Truch
Dick
Stauffer
Ray
Woods
Jack
Borno
Anne
Weerstra
Mary
Jane
Hunter
Jennifer
Hilborne
Marijke
Jalink
Other
Banders
Total
Banders
Cross
Trail
Members
of the
Public
Total
Other
Banders:
Same
>5km
Box
to
or<5km
<24k
m
Page
17
Age at Recapture
Banded as
>24k
m
Adul
t
Youn
g
Tota
l
0
1
2
3
4
2
0
5
1
0
4
4
3
3
1
1
3
1
1
5
4
2
3
1
1
2
43
7
18
32
19
1
14
6
1
3
6
33
2
22
13
5
8
1
5
4
1
4
2
4
2
2
1
1
3
2
2
2
1
3
3
2
4
4
1
1
3
3
1
2
2
2
3
3
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
35
1
1
6
6
4
2
3
2
3
2
1
1
1
130
16
90
66
7
18
1
37
5
3
1
6
4
4
3
2
1
3
1
2
3
1
1
6
2
138
36
4
9
6
9
106
1
3
2
1
1
9
3
1
Diana Halladay 2,
Isabelle Orr 1,
Bill Taylor 1
20
2
3
91
1
3
1
3
9
5
1
13
8
50
2
3
13
7
3
2
2
56
4
4
2
1
156
38
3
4
7
2
4
4
2
1
197
Band Recoveries – Tree Swallows Page 18
Same
Tree Swallows
(TRES)
Ron Reist
Dick Stauffer
Don Stiles
Isabelle Orr
Bill Taylor
Shonna McLeod
Mary Jane Hunter
Anne Weerstra
Barry Trakalo
Marijke Jalink
Susanne Maidment
Pat Mitchell
Andrew Holder
Other Banders
Total Banders
Cross Trail
Members of the Public
Total
Other Banders:
•Distance Moved
>5km
>24km
Box
or<5km
89
17
15
9
8
6
7
4
5
5
2
3
3
3
176
5
181
Brian
Exton 1,
Ray Woods
1, Matt
Ginn 1,
Jennifer
Hilborne 1
to
<24km
19
1
1
2
1
24
17
41
0
7
1
8
Banded as
Adult
Young
106
16
14
9
8
7
7
4
4
5
3
3
3
4
193
11
2
2
2
204
1
1
0
1
2
11
19
1
31
Note: For age at recapture, birds banded as adults are assumed to have been one year old when banded.
In some cases they will have been older.
• Some "Distance Moved" estimated and not all distances calculated.
Photos: Jack Borno
Bluebird Websites
Page 19
Particularly for the Calgary Area – Calgary Area Nestbox Monitors
http://canm.canadiannaturenetwork.ca
Monitoring a Bluebird Trail
Detailed Procedures and What to Expect
How to Identify Nests and Their Contents
Paired Boxes
Annual Reports 2009, 2010
Brief Early History
www.bluebirdtrails.org
The Lethbridge group who cover the rest of Southern Alberta. They have our CANM 2011 A.R.
www.mountainbluebirds.com (Montana)
See the link to “Children’s Activity Booklet” by Myrna Pearman. This is a 40 page booklet is a large file
which takes some time to open (or may not open?).
Page 38 of this booklet has an extensive list of websites except the one mentioned in the paragraph
above. Two of these are mentioned below.
Also see Trail Mgmt.
www.ellisbirdfarm.ab.ca
About Bluebirds
Attracting Mountain Bluebirds
www.nabluebirdsociety.org (North American Bluebird Society)
Photos 2: High-flying birds
Photos: Jack Borno(above); Marie Donohue (below left)
Right: Farook Oosman
Below: Walt Gruszecki
Page 20