Ross Lake Bluebird Trail Tour

June 5th, 2025

Article by Claudia Lipski & Karin Lindquist

We did it! We found bluebirds along Ross Lake Road (Twp. Rd 380), and they were beautiful!

On this very pleasant evening, Chris, Michelle, Gayle, Claudia, Betty, Karin, Melody and Gail met to carpool in three vehicles to find bluebirds. Before we departed to find bluebirds, we reviewed the history of Elmer Gross and his bird trail. Afterwards, we jumped in three vehicles to find any bluebirds that were inhabiting the nest boxes, and we were not disappointed!

While it was interesting watching the male Mountain Bluebirds go out and catch bugs (sometimes in mid-air, other times diving into the field to snag an unsuspecting insect) and bring them back to feed their fledgling young, we discovered that it was only the males doing the feeding. Interestingly, no females were visible anywhere.

(Note: Female Mountain Bluebirds are much less flashy than their male counterparts. They are more greyish overall with hints of blue on their tails and wings, whereas the males, as pictured above, are a brilliant, eye-catching blue almost throughout.)

This left us wondering, what happened to the females? Were they in another nest box brooding on another clutch of eggs, or did they move on to greener pastures, letting the single dads do the heavy work of feeding their young until they were ready to leave the nest?

Of course, we had no answers. But we indeed found it quite interesting.

We ended the evening with Michelle’s deliciously sweet raspberry bars – thank you, Michelle!

Elmer Gross's Legacy

What a legacy Elmer has left. By 1997, Elmer had placed 950 boxes along 24 miles in the Warden area. A historical map is found in the Buffalo Lake Nature Club room at the Stettler Town and Country Museum. Building, putting up and documenting nestbox use was a hobby Elmer picked up after retiring from farming in the Delia area. Elmer met his first Mountain Bluebird when he and his wife Ruth moved to the Warden area. He began installing nestboxes in 1983 to help bluebirds find suitable accommodation.

Sadly, bluebirds were being outcompeted for nesting cavities by House Sparrows, European Starlings, Tree Swallows and Northern House Wrens. Elmer did what he could, finding low-cost building supplies and always modifying his patterns in search of perfecting his nestbox design.

Elmer received the Blue Feather Award in 2009 from the Ellis Bird Farm and the Stettler and District Board of Trade Ecology Award in 2017. Elmer passed away in 2024 at the age of 96 years.

Elmer Gross (right) with his 2017 Stettler & District Board of Trade Ecology Award.

In the fall of 2024, Laurier Rachar inspired the Buffalo Lake Nature Club to seek out and begin maintenance of Elmer’s remaining nestboxes. With the aid of historical trail maps, Tannis, Tim, Chris, Michelle, Claudia, and Laurie spent some wintry days touring the Warden area, cleaning out nest boxes.

We are not planning to maintain all 950 nestboxes, but we are offering a manageable number of boxes to anyone interested in becoming a bluebird landlord. Please get in touch with us at buffalolakenc@gmail.com to express your interest.