The 6th Annual Campbell River Bald Eagle Festival commemorates Phoenix, the Hornby Island bald eagle that was watched by thousands on the Internet.
BC Hydro is a major sponsor of this year’s festival put on by Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS), which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Maritime Heritage Centre by Discovery Pier.
The theme this year is the “Legacy of Phoenix” based on the young eaglet on the Hornby Island webcam who died suddenly last summer. Phoenix left an indelible imprint on all her thousands of devotees who, with amazement and awe, watched this young bird grow and develop for 11 weeks. Her death was met with disbelief and overwhelming grief.
“This year’s line of guest speakers is shaping up to be one of our most impressive to date,” says Maj Birch, MARS Manager and one of the organizers for the event.
Some of the guest speakers include: Doug Carrick, Hornby Island Eagle Group whose webcam captured the life and death of Phoenix, Mike Mcintosh who will be discussing the Burrowing Owl Recovery Program and, of course, their ambassador Beaker will accompany him. Art Martell will talk about the Trends in Coastal Bird Populations and W. Allan Hancock, a renowned wildlife artist, will be displaying his paintings and discussing how he finds inspiration in nature. Plus many more interesting and exciting speakers will be on hand, so keep watching and listening or visit MARS website www.wingtips.org for more details.
And, what would the festival be without Harrison the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival’s mascot flying over to entertain and stand by for photo opportunities with his adoring fans.
Back by popular demand is the Eagle Fest Photo Contest. This contest is sponsored by Photo Tech’s fotosource and the entry fee ($10) includes an 8 x 10” mounted photo.
The Categories are: Vancouver Island Wildlife & Vancouver Island Birds. The Age Groups are: Children (13 and under) Adults (14 and older).
Great prizes! Be sure to get your photo in by the Feb. 21 deadline. Submit your jpeg image to: Photo Tech fotosource at 110-1260 Shoppers Row, Campbell River or e-mail your entry to phototech@telus.net with “Photo Contest” in the subject line.
For more information on the photo contest, contact 250-286-1233 or e-mail phototech@telus.net.
Doors open to the public for Eaglefest at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. Admission is $5 or $10 for a family and MARS members are admitted for free.