Bluebird man - live on wild commons
The Emmy-nominated film is now streaming on Wild Commons, the new YouTube channel and distribution platform created by Wild Lens and Impact Media Lab.
Al Larson, who was also known as the Bluebird Man, passed away in 2025 at the age of 103. For over 40 years he monitored and maintained 300+ nestboxes for bluebirds across Southwest Idaho. He put a uniquely numbered US Fish and Wildlife Service leg band on every bluebird nestling before they fledged from his boxes, ultimately banding more than 30,000 nestling bluebirds.
Al Larson, the Bluebird Man.
I had the great fortune of meeting Al back when he was in his early 90s. My co-director, Neil Paprocki went out in the field with him before I did, and I’ll never forget the footage that Neil showed me when he returned from that first trip. Neil captured footage of Al, at age 91, climbing up and over a tall metal gate to access a bluebird box. He climbed over the gate like it was nothing, and immediately moved onto the next bluebird box. I sensed immediately that we had stumbled across a fascinating story. This wasn’t just about what Al was doing for the bluebirds - it was also about what the bluebirds were doing for Al.
As Neil and I continued working with Al and got to know him better, it became clear that Al also believed that his bluebird trails were the secret to his longevity. He cracked jokes about how people who have nothing to do once they retire will drop dead. He referred to his work on the bluebird trails as a job that he didn’t get paid for, but it was so much more than that. Bluebirds were Al’s passion, and because this passion sustained him for so long, they became his life’s work, and his legacy.
Mountain bluebird in the Owyhee Mountains.
Neil and I started going out to the bluebird trails with Al all the time. Even after we’d captured all the footage that we needed for the film, we kept going out with Al because it was fun, and a great excuse to get out of the office. I began to understand the draw that Al felt towards his bluebird trails. Checking the boxes was meditative, and it made him feel connected to the land. Al grew up in the Owyhees - the same mountains where his largest bluebird trail was located, and he talked a lot about the time he spent in this rugged desert landscape as a kid.
There have been a number of events celebrating Al’s life this past year, including a few that featured screenings of Bluebird Man. It’s been a reminder of how lucky I was to have the opportunity to spend time with Al and help tell his story. I’ve met few other people who’ve led such a remarkable life, and I feel incredibly privileged that I had the opportunity to play a role in sharing Al’s story.
This moment, as we celebrate Al’s legacy, felt like the right time to re-share Bluebird Man on a new platform and introduce his story to a new audience. The film is now available to stream on the Wild Commons YouTube channel, the new filmmaker-owned distribution platform that Wild Lens recently launched in collaboration with Impact Media Lab. My hope is that Al’s story will continue providing others with inspiration for many years to come.
-Matt Podolsky
Matt filming Al as he bands nestling bluebirds.