Wild Wing Festival 2023
Wild Wing Festival 2023
Gooseneck Hill Waterfowl Sanctuary Invites All Bird Lovers to Attend Event
Gooseneck Hill Waterfowl Sanctuary is the destination for bird lovers, and on Sunday, it will be open to the public for the last time this year! The largest covered free-flying aviary in the United States, Gooseneck Hill welcomes everyone to their annual Wild Wing Festival on Sunday, August 27th from noon-4:00pm. Explore the aviary, support the incredible work of Gooseneck Hill and enjoy great food and live music at this bird-lover’s paradise at 5067 Townline Road in Delevan.
For Milton and Rosemary Miner, birds are their life, and they’ve devoted the past 40 years to providing a safe haven for over 750 ducks, geese, and swans, some of which are on the endangered species list. “I’ve been doing this since 1983,” said Rosemary Miner. “We were in Holland [NY] but we didn’t have enough room. We only had four birds when we started and now we have over 700!”
The sanctuary, which contains seven acres under net including four ponds, is home to many different species of birds, some of which can’t be found anywhere else in the country. While some birds come from breeders and zoos, others arrive via Miner’s travels. “We went to Alaska four times and collected eggs on the tundra,” she explained. “We had to have special permits from Alaska and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” Miner brought home Pacific Eiders from Alaska, the largest ducks in the world. Other species include scaups and long-tailed ducks, just a few of the 78 different species at Gooseneck Hill.
On Sunday, visitors will be able to go inside the aviary and feed the ducks by hand, if they like. “All the birds are hand-raised, so they’re familiar with people,” said Miner. “They’ll come right up to you and eat our of your hand. We also have over a thousand koi fish to feed. Some of them are around three feet long!” Visitors will also enjoy some of the newest members of the Gooseneck Hill family, too. “We have lots of babies - some are almost full grown but we just had some babies born this week,” Miner added. “We have some little white mandarins that are only two inches high running around with their parents!”
Visitors can expect to see birds from every continent, like the bar-headed goose from India, the highest flying bird in the world, and the African Pygmy Goose, the smallest in the world. While Gooseneck Hill gives some birds to zoos, many go to breeders who are better equipped to care for the birds. “They need a lot more than a little cage,” Miner pointed out. “Here, they have lots of land. They’re free - they can pick their own partner, and they don’t have to be put in a cage. If they don’t want to lay an egg, that’s fine with me; I don’t care!”
In addition to tours of the aviary, Sunday’s festival includes live music by the Rustic Ramblers with Gene Hilts on the steel guitar. Lil’s Deli of Machias will be serving a variety of food, including pizza, pizza logs, fries, taco logs, and specialty cookies. Admission is just $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and younger, and free for children younger than five.
The festival, which was started about 10 years ago, supports the facility and associated costs of maintaining the property. A treacherous storm in 2012 created wind and waves about eight feet high, which destroyed the fence of the entire lower aviary and created six to eight feet of muck in the ponds. All birds had to be moved to the top aviary, and if not for the help of the Local 17 Union of Hamburg, Gooseneck Hill would have likely closed for good. Union members volunteered for three weeks to replace the fence and netting, and local mills donated stone to help rebuild the sanctuary.
Each year, festival funds are used to maintain the property, which has weathered other storms since. For those looking to get involved after the festival is over, Miner said that Gooseneck Hill is always looking for help. “My husband is 83 and I’m 76,” she said. “When you get older, it’s a lot harder to replace netting and fencing. We’re always looking for volunteers. If there is anyone looking for a job and is a good worker, we’d be more than happy to hire them,” said Miner, who noted that the work - while physically demanding - is incredibly rewarding.
For those planning to attend the festival, Miner recommends bringing a lawn chair and appropriate footwear, as the festival will be held rain or shine. For more information about the sanctuary and bird adoption, visit gooseneckhillwaterfowlfarm.com or email Miner at rosebird@frontier.net.