The Early Bird area is underlain by micaceous and chloritic schist, quartzite and limestone of the Middle Cambrian to Middle Devonian Index Formation, Lardeau Group. Two parallel fissures, striking 285 degrees and dipping 80 degress south are exposed. Near the portal of a tunnel, stringers of ore several centimetres wide are found. In the last 15 metres of the adit the fissure is tight and no ore is visible. The ore consists of quartz, calcite, galena and sphalerite with minor amounts of pyrite and chalcopyrite. The vein is in calcareous and siliceous mica schists and limey silcate gneiss.

The Early Bird produced 137 tonnes of ore from 1914 to 1916 (inclusive). A total of 47,276 grams of silver, 57,643 kilograms of lead and 1,264 kilograms of zinc were recovered.

This claim, located on the shore of Kootenay Lake about 2.4 kilometres north of Ainsworth, was Crown granted to J.L. Retallack in 1895. The records of the development work done on this claim are incomplete. Apparently the original owner drove about 23 metres of tunnel on the property in 1896. The next mention of the property is in 1914 when leasers made a trial shipment of 25 tons of ore.

In 1916 the Wolverine Mining and Development Syndicate operated the Early Bird, Carey Fraction and Nicolet claims. Their operations were largely confined to the Carey Fraction and only about 4.6 metres of tunnel was driven on each of the other two claims.

In 1921 the Lakeshore Mining Co. acquired about 12 claims running from the lakeshore up the hill and covering a strip of ground between the Florence and Highland properties. The Early Bird claim may have been included in the Lakeshore Co. property. The Kootenay-Florence Mining Co. Ltd. acquired the property of the Lakeshore Mining Co. in 1928.

The owner of the property in 1949 was a Mr. Pringle of London, England. He gave an option to F.W. Robinson. An old adit beside the highway was reopened and extended to a length of 24 metres. An adit was collared 18 metres lower in slide rock below the highway. This adit was driven until it broke into the old workings. A drift on the vein was extended an additional 23. Work ceased in the fall of 1951. The owners of the property at this time was Messrs. Robinson, Watson and Perdue.