Mountain bluebirds down 60 per cent since 1970 as Alberta conservation effort expands

Mountain bluebird populations have plummeted 60 per cent since 1970 across Canada, prompting conservation efforts across Alberta and the Prairies.

According to The State of Canada's Birds, a joint production of Birds Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, there are now an estimated 650,000 mountain bluebirds in Canada — about 12 per cent of the migratory bird's numbers in North America and the lowest recorded population abundance to date. Population decline accelerated rapidly from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, but has dropped significantly ever since.

The exact reasons for the decline are not entirely known, but Jody Allair with Birds Canada said they could include climate change, habitat loss, and a decline in insect populations — the bird's primary food source — due to pesticide and herbicide usage. "It's been a consistent decline, and particularly since the early 2000s, it has basically just been dropping solid," he said.

The Badlands Trail Society operates 48 bluebird nest boxes throughout the Drumheller Valley and surrounding area to help the species. Cheryl Taylor, one of the organization's founders, said the boxes give the bluebirds "a little bit of help" in areas where natural nesting cavities are few and far between. The land west of Drumheller, operated with Nature Conservancy of Canada property, provides ideal prairie environment, ample food availability, and lack of human development — "a perfect site" for bluebirds.

Allair said the public's clear interest in bluebird conservation is a promising sign. "You can't put a price on how valuable it is to engage people in conservation. That's when you're really going to make the difference — get people involved, get people to understand and care about the birds, and that could really change people's whole world."