The Ellis Bird Farm will be hosting their annual Bluebird Festival this Saturday, July 10, 2021. If you are looking to learn more about birds, or simply looking to get out and enjoy the beautiful natural area it might be time to do it.

“There's lots of different activities for people of all ages. We've got a Purple Martin Nest check demonstration happening at 10:00 AM, banding demonstrations with Strix Ecological happening also at 10:00 AM. We'll be presenting our Blue Feather award this weekend as well. There is going to be some nature crafts for kids and their families. They can build a bird feeder for $6,” said Sandy Van Dijk, Site Manager and Biologist with the Ellis Bird Farm.

The Blue Feather award recognizes someone who has made a significant contribution to the conservation of bluebirds. This year, Shonna McLeod has been chosen to receive the award.

“Shonna has quite a history of working and banding bluebirds. She's got her own nest box trail that she monitors. She's over 80-years-old but she's still very active with banding all kinds of different birds. It’s pretty amazing what she does so we're really excited to present that award to her,” said Van Dijk.

With the help of a $6,000 grant from the Red Deer and District Community Foundation, the Ellis Bird Farm was able to conduct their Mountain Blue Bird Nest Box Camera Pilot Study. You can check out some of the video footage from that study here:

Additionally the Ellis Bird Farm has been doing extensive studies on Purple Martins for approximately 20 years now.

“It's important because Purple Martins actually nest almost exclusively in man-made condos and this isn't their natural habitat, but they've been out-competed with by house sparrows and European Starling.  It's important for humans to be providing those condos for them to make sure that their purple martins are surviving and doing well in their in their home and their man-made environments,” explained Van Dijk.

Now that COVID-19 restrictions have lifted several programs will also be returning to the Ellis Bird farm including a couple of programs that are new to the farm. With tons to see and do, Van Dijk looks forward to hosting people at the farm once again.

“It's exciting to be able to have all these events and programs again. It was a bit of a slow start but we're excited. Since restrictions have lifted, we have been able to put these plans in place this year,” added Van Dijk.

For more information on this weekend’s activities, click here.