Sask. conservationist tends to more than 400 birdhouses near Indian Head

INDIAN HEAD, SASK. -

A conservationist near Indian Head is taking steps to help the bird population rebound in rural Saskatchewan.

Lorne Scott is a member of the Order of Canada and previously served as Saskatchewan’s minister of environment and resource management. On Thursday, he checked up on hundreds of birdhouses he maintains near his farm to aid the decreasing mountain bluebird population.

“Bluebirds nest in manmade nest boxes,” Scott said. “Many people put out bluebird boxes to help the bluebirds and swallows. Unfortunately, like most birds, bluebird populations are declining dramatically.”

Scott estimates the population of mountain bluebirds is less than half of what it was in the 1970s. He’s not entirely sure of the cause but suspects a loss of habitat and food supply played a significant role.

He tends to roughly 400 birdhouses in the area, each one built by hand. Scott estimates he’s constructed 1,500 birdhouses over the years. It’s at these birdhouses where Scott bands the baby bluebirds.

Bird banding is conducted by the federal governments in Canada and the U.S. and both wildlife services work together to track the movements of the birds.

“We band birds to find out where they go, how long they live, if they come back to the same nest box,” Scott said. “We are able to find some interesting information. I had one bluebird return six years in a row to the same birdbox on the same fence post.”

A permit is needed for those who want to band birds, but anyone can contribute by putting up birdhouses for bluebirds and other types of birds.

Scott estimates he’s banded more than 40,000 birds in his 50-year career.