Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association

The Anaka Bluebird Trail Project
Yellowhead Nature Society

As part of our commitment to conservation and education the Yellowhead Nature Society (YNS) has been helping to maintain a Bluebird trail that was started many years ago by Joyce and Bill Anaka. When Joyce and Bill could no longer manage the trail, Val and Bob Edwards agreed to continue the work that the Anakas had started.

More recently, members of the YNS are providing assistance with the monitoring, maintenance and record keeping that is required. The newsletter articles that follow will provide a better understanding of the people and history of the “Anaka Bluebird Trail.”

The trail is made up of 106 nest boxes that are mostly located along the Good Spirit Community Pasture on or close to the #47 highway between Springside and Buchanan. The Good Lake municipal map located below shows the locations and numbers of the boxes. For those who are interested, the R.M. of Goodlake roads are well marked with township and range; finding the boxes and Bluebirds should not be difficult.

The Anakas and Edwards have kept very accurate nesting records that go back to the beginning of the trail (a copy of a Bill Anaka article from the June 1997 issue of the Blue Jay Journal is available here). While those records are available for those who may be interested, for our purposes we are only including nest box observations beginning in 2023. Our intention is to update those yearly. We have not only recorded the nesting of Mountain Bluebirds, but also other species that might use the boxes. It is worth noting that occasionally, we will even see Eastern Bluebirds occupying one or more of the nest boxes (See the Nest Box records for 2023-2024 here.

For the last couple of years we have been fortunate to have Lorne Scott from Indian Head join us to band some young birds. This is always an interesting and enjoyable day for our members and guests. This annual event happens in early June.

For more information about the Bluebird Trail, contact Morley Maier by phone at 306-621-9415, or by email: m.maier@imagewireless.ca.

Click on map for a larger version of the
Anaka Bluebird Trail map

Previous articles regarding the Anaka Bluebird Trails have appeared in previous YFBTA newsletters. Check the links below for more info:

1. Feb. 2018 Issue 1, page 1 - "In Memoriam: William Anaka" by C. Stuart Houston

2. Aug. 2020 Issue 3, page 4 - "An Old Trail With a New Caretaker" by Michelle Easton

3. Nov. 2021 Issue 3, page 6 - "I Don't Know Much About Bluebirds" by Rob Wilson

4. Feb. 2023 Issue 1, page 6 - "A Short History" by Kenn Wood

Finally, a few photos. Click on each for bigger versions.