Your LOCAL Media since 1918! Volume 105 Issue 34 Volume 105 Issue 34
More Snowgoose Coverage PAGES 18 & 19
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Wednesday, April 26, 2023 s Wednesday, April 26, 2023 s
Birding community flocks to Tofield for revival of the Snow Goose Festival
Tofield welcomes back the Snow Goose Festival BY JANA SEMENIUK Tofield’s birding community welcomed back the Snow Goose Festival with open arms last weekend after a 20-year hiatus. At least 1,000 people went through the trade show, filled the tour buses and attended a Saturday night banquet all to celebrate the spring migration of snow geese, which create a spectacle everywhere they go by congregating in spectacularly huge flocks. Event organizer, Vanita Eglauer Recreation/Facilities Coordinator for the Town of Tofield, said this year’s festival put a smile on everyone’s faces. “I am really happy with how the event went. It was really well attended and lots of good comments from the participants and overall, it was really good,” she said. “I think the most stressful part was that late spring brought the geese in a bit late, but to finally see it be able to go, it was really nice to finally be able to have a Snow Goose Festival.” Geoff Holroyd, Board Chair for the Beaverhill Bird Observatory, said the snow geese were late to their own festival this year due to a late spring, but still managed to put on a bit of a show for most of the tourists. “The migration is late, but one of our volunteers went out with the bus tour (and) on the first tour they saw 35,000 snow geese so it doesn't get any better than that,” he said smiling. Continued on Page 18
HUGE MIGRATION OF SNOW GEESE Huge swaths of snow geese continued to fly into the Tofield area over the weekend of the festival. Jana Semeniuk Photo