By Jason Malloy
A mild winter has provided unusually abundant natural food supply for Annapolis Valley bald eagles. However an official with Eagle Watch 2012 said the majestic birds could still be seen with a little patience.
“There’s no ice around out in the Minas Basin,” said Richard Hennigar, an organizing committee member. “The eagles aren’t nearly as desperate for the extra poultry backup rations that they come for normally.”
The Sheffield Mills festival held its opening weekend Jan. 28 and 29 and is preparing for the final weekend Feb. 4 and 5.
“Our numbers were just about average,” Hennigar said, noting volunteers served about 300 meals each day over the weekend. “That’s a good start. We paid the bills with that one.”
People braved the lingering effects of Friday’s snowstorm, along with cold winds and some wet flurries Saturday and Sunday. The eagles spent much of the days in the trees surrounding the farmer’s field where the chicken carcasses had been left early in the morning. The occasional eagle swooped in to catch an easy meal, but the activity by most accounts was light.
Hennigar said the weather is the “wildcard” making the viewing opportunities “unpredictable.”
This year’s warm weather reminds Hennigar of the late 1990s.
“They were waking me up in the mornings in the trees over my house,” Hennigar recalled. “I’d get out during the day and never see one. They had all gone fishing.”
He said most people attending the event understand nature is heavily influenced by weather.
“I couldn’t get (the eagles) to sign anything in the contract that they would show up,” he joked.
The long-running festival brings people from other provinces and other regions of Nova Scotia to the Annapolis Valley. It provides spinoffs for local restaurants, overnight accommodations and businesses during the middle of the winter.
Hennigar reminds people there are many things to do in Sheffield Mills, including community meals and displays during the weekend.
