The good news is that there have been no cases of avian influenza outside of the 3 kilometre exclusion zone. However, the three week quarantine period remains in effect.
There is also concern at the large number of ducks and geese in the area as these birds are carriers of the disease even though they do not contract it themselves. To illustrate how swiftly the disease moves a am told that the virus got in to a barn of 12,000 turkeys. Three days later there were only 100 left alive, and these had to be euthanized. No wonder the farmers are so concerned. As a result I regret to advise you that there will be no further feeding of the eagles this winter. It would not have commenced before the end of the quarantine period in any event and that would take us into the first week of March. By mid March the eagles start returning to their nesting grounds, so the feeding window would have been small. The eagles have left the feeding site and without the attraction of easy food they may move on sooner than they otherwise would. Thank you for your support and donations. I hope we can do this again in December. In the meantime, stay well!
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I have just been advised that a further outbreak of avian influenza is reported in the Gaspereau Valley. At present birds within a three kilometre radius are likely to be destroyed. If this contains the disease we may be able to resume feedings. If it does not the next exclusion zone is a ten kilometre radius.
Things will probably unfold more slowly than we would like, but we will not resume until the situation has been resolved. I will continue to visit the feeding site at normal feeding times to advise visitors of the circumstances. If you are planning to visit and would like an update, feel free to call me on 902 582 1708. As reported in the news there has been a confirmed case of avian influenza in the Halifax area. It is unclear at this time what the long term effects will be but for the time being we are suspending feeding the eagles to avoid having to access farms.
I will update information as it becomes available. |
Malcolm LakeMalcolm lives in Sheffield Mills and is our resident eagle feeder. He feeds the eagles daily and has a unique relationship with these large birds. These are his adventures! Archives
February 2022
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