Roger York Photograph:Shelley Coffey

THERE IS A STORY that if you see the bluebirds returning in the spring, you will have good luck all year long. However, a mere 60 years ago, seeing that ‘bluebird of happiness' may have been a bit of a challenge as the Mountain Bluebird, the type most common in our area, was an endangered species. This was due in part to a lack of proper nesting places and encroachment from humans as well as the use of pesticides, but mainly to the introduction of English Sparrows and starlings, both non-native and invasive species, to the bluebird habitat.

"I got started when my dad couldn't get around to all the boxes that he had put up. I've been at it now for about 18 years. There is nothing like seeing the bluebirds return in the spring. The males come in a flock of anywhere from 50 to 200 and it is absolutely breathtaking. They are at their most colourful then, because they are competing for nesting spots and trying to attract a mate," explains Ken Mackintosh, whose dad, Duncan Mackintosh, founded the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society in Southern Alberta over 30 years ago.

The society's mission is to study, conserve, and help restore the habitat of the Mountain Bluebird in Southern Alberta. Part of that program includes strategically placing nesting boxes, banding and monitoring the population.

Ken and current society President, Joe Michielsen, relate how a simple thing like providing the boxes, made with the right materials and dimensions, and then placing them on trails in a proper habitat has taken the bluebird population from near extinction to a threatened species.

For the full story pick up the current issue of Lethbridge living Magazine