Home COPY sept 2016

Linking Wildlife, Agriculture & Industry

Ellis Bird Farm is Now Closed for the Season

Located in the heart of central Alberta, Ellis Bird Farm is both a working farm as well as a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Mountain Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and other native cavity-nesting birds. Drop-in visitors and tour groups are welcome at Ellis Bird Farm during the summer months, when we are open to the public. Enjoy the beautiful gardens, see the world’s largest outdoor collection of bluebird nest boxes, take a tour out to our bluebird trail, visit the Visitor Centre and linger in the Ellis Café. Enjoy a country drive in Central Alberta. We invite you to visit us next May when we are open for the 2017 season!

Map and Directions

The Weather Network

A very busy Closing Day

Ellis Bird Farm hosted a very busy Closing Day. Myrna Pearman's bird feeding talk was well attended and we were entertained once again by the Golden Music Makers. The raffle draws were held at 3 PM, with Marney Marshall (96 years young) drawing the names. We will have a list of winners posted shortly. She is pictured here with her son and granddaughter, who she (luckily!) drew for door prizes! We were also pleased to have Joel from KJCountry/Z99 at the site for the afternoon!

The happy winner

Winner: Joyce Ing of Carstairs

The happy winner of Joyce Youle's beautiful wolf cross stitch was Joyce Ing of Carstairs. Her friend, Linda Neumiller, was on hand when Joyce's name was called. She kindly delivered the prize to Joyce.

A big thank you to Joyce Youle of Regina for her donation of this beautiful piece!

Between our two raffles this summer, we generated a total of $1,678.00.

We will have other raffle details posted soon.

End of season approaches

The Purple Martins left early this year - most had left Ellis Bird Farm by the 13th of August (we usually count on at least a few being around until the 20th). It is time to clean out the old nesting material, disinfect the nest cavities with a shot of bleach water, and nest seed for next year with chopped straw. This messy job is being tackled by (from left to right) Ron Biel, Shalynn Westervelt and Meagan Gabert.

Ellis Bird Farm honours Gary Krigbaum of Iowa

Ellis Bird Farm was honoured by the recent visit of Gary and Pam Krigbaum of Iowa. It is Mr Krigbaum who we can thank for Ellis Bird Farm!

After it was determined that the Ellis farm was the ideal location for a petrochemical site, Union Carbide Canada tried unsuccessfully to deal with Charlie and Winnie. Finally, the Union Carbide CEO sent Mr Krigbaum, Manager of General Services, out from Toronoto to talk to them. It was Mr Krigbaum's promise to Charlie and Winnie that the company would "look after their bluebirds" that sealed the deal. Mr Krigbaum then met in secret with a well respected local realtor, Glen Buchwald, to obtain the options to the land. The goal was to secure the property without affecting local land prices.
Mr Krigbaum has never been back to the site after sealing the deal with Charlie and Winnie, so it was a very memorable day to have him visit and reconnect with some of the other people who were instrumental in establishing Ellis BIrd Farm and getting it off to a strong start.

Glen Buchwald remained a strong supporter of Ellis Bird Farm until his passing. His wife, Beverly, continues to support us. We were very pleased that Gary and Beverly had a chance to meet again and enjoy a short visit.

Adobe Lightroom Course at Ellis Bird Farm – October 29 & 30, 2016

This course will give extensive training in the use of Adobe Lightroom, which is the most popular photo-editing program in use today. Your presenter will be Leo de Groot, currently President of the Central Alberta Photographic Society.

You will learn how to:

Import your photos into the program’s Library module which can handle 200,000 images or more

Automatically apply custom settings during the import
Customize the way the software displays your images on screen
Analyze your photos for technical quality
Filter your photos to expedite organizing them
Rank your images
Organize them so you can easily find photos using keywords
Add watermarks or signatures
Export them again in various sizes and formats

Edit your images using the Develop module

Modify basic settings like exposure, contrast, shadows, blacks, saturation, and more
Use the histogram to decide what adjustments are appropriate
Use presets to quickly apply adjustments
Make fine adjustments to individual colors in images
Sharpen your image
Control noise
Automatically have lens corrections applied
Correct distortions in images
Use special tools to crop, remove spots, apply graduated filters, and adjustment brushes

Lightroom also has Map, Book, Slideshow, Print and Web modules which we will touch on if there is time.

The schedule for the course will be:
Saturday, October 29
9:00-11:00 Library Module Part 1
11:00-12:00 Question and Answer session
1:00-3:00 Library Module Part 2
3:00-4:00 Question and Answer session
Sunday, October 30
9:00-11:00 Develop Module Part 1
11:00-12:00 Question and Answer session
1:00-3:00 Develop Module Part 2
3:00-4:00 Question and Answer session

Cost $100 (half price for Central Alberta Photographic Society Members)
Register and pay here.

BACKYARD BIRD FEEDING: An Alberta Guide
Ellis Bird Farm’s newest publication is available in our new online bookstore here.
When purchasing from our online bookstore, Myrna will be happy to "sign" this new book for you.
The proceeds from the sale of this book support the conservation, education and research programs of Ellis Bird Farm.
Media/ Press Kit for this book

Stores where you can purchase this book:
Right here on our website ( You can request a signed copy)
Ellis Bird Farm Visitor Centre - Gift Shop
Kerry Wood Nature Centre - Red Deer
Chapters - Red Deer
Co-op, Red Deer Home Centre - Riverside Drive
The Wildbird General Store - Edmonton
Westview Co-op - Eagle Hill Grocery & Farm Store
Rona - Sylvan Lake
Nowco Home Hardware - Lacombe
Hannas Seeds - Lacombe
Second Glance Books - Lacombe

Central Alberta Coop Flower Shop - Lacombe
Meats and Sausage - Bashaw
Alix Home Hardware - Alix
South Side Greenhouse - Barrhead
Ponoka Bookstore - Ponoka
Peavey Marts - All stores in Alberta
The Wild Bird Store - Calgary
Spruce It Up Garden Centre - Calgary
Owl's Nest Books- Calgary- Britannia Shopping Plaza
Country Living & Garden Centre - Okotoks
Parkland Garden Centre - Red Deer

Next Program

Adobe Lightroom Course

Adobe Lightroom Course at Ellis Bird Farm – October 29 & 30, 2016
Cost $100 (half price for Central Alberta Photographic Society Members)
Register and pay here.

Tweets by @EllisBirdFarm

Myrna Pearman
Speaking Engagements

September 12 - Medicine Hat Horticultural Society, Medicine Hat
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Library Theatre. Myrna will be presenting and selling copies of her latest book, Backyard Bird Feeding. Coffee and cookies provided. Sponsored by the Horticultural Society

October 1 - Wild Bird Store, Calgary Talk about Ellis Bird Farm, book signing

Oct 15th - Gaetz Memorial United Church Red Deer- Women's Retreat. Presenting info on book "NatureScaping"

April 2017 - Edmonton Nature Club (Banquet speaker)

WISH LIST

Wheelbarrow
Household brooms
Yarn and plastic lacing cord
Umbrellas to loan out to visitors on rainy days
Wooden or nature-based plastic beads for our school and day camp programs
Old fashioned one-speed bike (to keep the farmstead theme of EBF). This would be used for staff to open and close the gate and other errands around the site.
Leaf blowers
Bistro sets (small table, two chairs)
Shoelaces (new or lightly used)
World globes
Craft supplies, tempera and acrylic paints for crafts
Golf cart