Countdown To Spring - Day Eight

By Kimberly J. Epp

A sign of Spring that our Grandparents may not have seen are Mountain Bluebirds on the prairies. Due to bluebird nesting box trails, these birds have expanded their range. They are early nesters, and have usually claimed a nesting box by the last week of March - IF the box has been cleaned out.

All bluebird males do their best singing during the short courtship season in early Spring. At the first hint of Spring, the male bluebird gets busy looking for a home. When he finds a nesting hole, he invites the female to inspect it. She will decide if it is suitable or not. The male sings, flutters his tail, and brings her an insect or two to show what a good father he would be.

Male Mountain Bluebird (photo by Kelly Wiens).

Male Mountain Bluebird (photo by Kelly Wiens).

The female bluebird builds the nest with soft dry grasses or fragrant pine needles. She then lays three to eight small blue eggs. After two weeks of incubation, the eggs hatch. The parents are busy feeding the nestlings every 20 minutes from dawn to dusk. In 17 to 23 days, the young are ready to fledge. Bluebirds raise two to three broods per year.

Female Mountain Bluebird (photo by Rich Pickering).

Female Mountain Bluebird (photo by Rich Pickering).

Clutch of bluebird nestlings waiting to get banded (photo by Kimberly Epp).

Clutch of bluebird nestlings waiting to get banded (photo by Kimberly Epp).

A few of us are still heading out to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park to clean out the bluebird boxes (it was too cold last weekend) and replace the dilapidated houses on Sunday - so my "Beyond Your Backyard" article on the bluebirds will now be the following Wednesday. The focus of the column will be on the importance of building and maintaining these nesting boxes. In the meantime, the countdown continues over the next few days. Stay tuned. Spring is around the corner! 

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