Innholdsfortegnelse for June 4, 2025 i Cage & Aviary Birds

I’VE BEEN IN the bird game for coming up to 33 years and I think I can fairly say I’ve had many ups and downs with respect to the breeding season. Possibly more downs, but then maybe they are the ones we recall. This year, I can honestly say I have had one of the best seasons I could have asked for. This is to the point where I’ve needed to start splitting pairs up after their second round as I have simply run out of room. I do, however, find myself pondering still: “What have I done that has worked?” And much like the seasons of lower success, I still am none the wiser. It does seem that I’m not alone in having a good breeding season. It also…

CANARIES WHEN I jotted down this bulletin, it was too early in the season to talk about success and failure and yet I felt very positive about how things were developing. If anything, I am known for NOT providing additives and complex feeding regimes for my birds. It’s even been said of me, jokingly, that my birds live on bread and water. Keeping the birds healthy with enough green food as they can eat and space to fly have always been my priorities. For clarity, I provide the Countrywide canary mix with VAM pellets, an eggfood finger drawer of Unifeed Maintenance and broccoli several times a week, and every second day I add Aviform Gold to the water. That’s it. In March, I’ll feed eggfood once or twice a week.…

IN MEMORIAM CAN I just say what an honour and a privilege it is to talk about the life of my friend of over sixty years – the extraordinary Harry – and to give an insight into how this man – father to Yvonne and Elaine, grandfather to Aimee, Michael, Jack and Taylor, great-grandfather to Freya, Connie and Minnie, passionate farmer, sportsman, ornithologist, opera enthusiast and artist – became an icon of the avicultural world. Harry didn’t just have a huge impact on me, though, he was a hero and a friend to many people all over the world. I would therefore like to start by recounting some of the wonderful tributes that have recently been paid to Harry. A post from the Parrot Society of New Zealand remembers Harry’s…

OPEN SHOW? LET US KNOW! ● Email details – name of club, show date, venue, contact, judges and schedule availability – to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk SHOW DATES HIGH WYCOMBE CBS is holding its annual open show including the Chiltern Interclub Show on December 7 at Hazlemere Community Centre, Rose Ave, High Wycombe HP15 7UB. Enquiries: 07534 832 943. MERSEYSIDE BORDER & FIFE FCC the club’s annual open show, held on the second Sunday of November, has become a cornerstone event for enthusiasts across the region, writes Stuart Mason. This year’s show is scheduled for November 9 at the Moon Meadow Scout Hall, Farnworth Street, Widnes WA8 9LH. Attendees can expect a warm Merseyside welcome, a hallmark of the club’s hospitality. The show not only showcases the finest Border and Fife fancy canaries…

10 × 1kg bags to be won! FANCY winning a 1kg bag of Budgie Tonic Seed or Super Canary Seed from Haith’s? Budgerigar Tonic Seed is used by birdkeeping experts to maintain tip-top condition. Experts have selected the finest SuperClean seeds, which make up this valuable seed mixture. It is a tonic that will keep budgerigars fit all through the year and supplements basic (staple) bird seed diets, naturally. Super Canary Seed is popular for its seed variety and nutritional goodness for canaries. Haith’s says it is a popular mix, providing most of the elements of a well-balanced diet. For a chance to win your choice of seed, see “How to enter” below. For more information on Haith’s, visit: www.haiths.com, search ‘Haith’s Cage & Aviary Bird Seed’ on Facebook or…

CANARIES OVER the past 200 years, numerous canary breeds have been developed for their type, colour and song. With such a variety to choose from, and the nature of selective breeding, some are considered “old” or “rare” breeds. Old breeds are, as the name suggests, those that have been around since the early days of canary evolution. Many have contributed to the creation of other breeds further down the line, an example being the crest. Rare breeds are mainly those that have been created in more recent times or are not mainstream in the UK but have a strong following in their country of origin. The Spanish raza, giboso and llarguet are examples of this. As most birdkeepers will know, the import or export of birds between the UK and…

PICTURE OF THE MONTH! C&AB TEAM PICKS THEIR FAVOURITE ENTRY EACH MONTH SEND us your birdkeeping pictures and we’ll publish them on this page. Each month the C&AB team will pick their favourite picture(s)! Simply email your picture to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk with “Readers’ Gallery” in the subject line or put them on our Facebook or Twitter pages. Unfortunately, the Kelsey Media offices at Welbeck Way, Woodston PE2 7WH are now closed so it is not possible to receive entries sent by post. Don’t forget to include your name and address and a caption. NB: you must send only images for which you own the copyright. We cannot guarantee to print everything we receive. Readers’ Gallery will return next month. Closing date for entries: June 20, 2025.…

ABERDEEN BS – June 12, Northern Bowling Club, Aberdeen AB24 3DP, 7.30pm. Blue series budgerigar competition. Enquiries: 01358 721 550. AVICULTURAL SOCIETY – June 7, WWT Slimbridge, Bowditch GL2 7BT. Summer meeting. Enquiries: 01621 772 427. BASILDON CBS – June 9, Felmores Community Centre, Northland’s Park, Basildon, Essex SS13 1SD, 7.30pm. Meeting. Enquiries: 07880 707 502. BRISTOL BS – June 9, Little Stoke Baptist Church, Kingsway, Bristol BS34 6JW, 7pm. Meeting. Enquiries: 07748 740 794. GATESHEAD & NEWCASTLE BS – June 11, Swalwell Community Centre, 74 Clavering Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE16 3ET, 7pm. Ring show, No’s 7, 6 & 2. Judge and speaker Jim Smith. Enquiries: 07530 996 570. GRANTHAM CBS – June 12, Railway Club, Huntingtower Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AU, 7.30pm. Budgerigar young stock show and barhead…

AN EXPENSIVE INVASION THE ECONOMIC COST of invasive bird, animal and plant species may be more than 1,600 per cent higher for certain species than previously thought, according to new research. The findings, based on data from 162 invasive species – including ring-neck parakeets (Alexandrinus krameria), an invasive species in the UK – highlight the potential damage incurred and could help countries to plan more cost-effective management. HARPY EAGLE ATTACK A WOMAN VISITING the Amazon rainforest has been attacked by a harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja). The 29-year-old tourist was walking on a remote trail in French Guiana when the bird flew onto her head and inflicted deep wounds to her scalp. Harpy eagles usually prey on mid-sized mammals, such as monkeys and sloths, and it is the first time a…

“NEW COLOURS AMONG traditional canary breeds will not be accepted by traditional breeders overnight, but are surely worthy of serious consideration, once they achieve an acceptable standard.” That’s Brian Keenan on page 10, where he considers the broad question of “colouring up” canaries, from English cinnamons through to… well, the example that occurs to me is Glosters, the breed over which this debate is probably keenest at the moment. I think Brian has put that in an admirably balanced way. When the type is right in the new colours, he’s saying, then they will probably go mainstream. But the onus now is on the breeders of colour birds to get their canaries up to the mark with type, and that’s what ought to drive their breeding effort over the coming…

COMMENT I APPLAUD the reinvention of the London fancy canary in recent years and, of course, its acceptance by COM as a new sustainable breed. It was great to see them at the World Show in Portugal, proudly taking their place among other type canaries. Given that the origin of the London was shrouded in mystery after its extinction, its emergence as a new breed is a remarkable achievement, developed by dedicated breeders over a number of years in the UK and beyond. One of the reasons cited for the breed’s original downfall was the number of “spangle-backs” or mis-marked birds that were produced each year, which distracted from the bird’s ideal beauty. This, perhaps, led to a programme of in-breeding of the better-marked birds to maintain the ideal markings…

Additional show details (schedule info, judges’ names, opening times and entry fee) will appear in our Club roundup section. For your open show to appear in our monthly calendar, send open show date, venue and contact details to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk SATURDAY & SUNDAY JUNE 21 & 22 SPECIALIST & RARE VARIETY OPEN SHOW Bugbrooke Sports & Community Centre, Camp Close, Bugbrooke NN7 3RW. Tel: 07922 047 798. SUNDAY JULY 6 SOUTH WEST LANCS BS GOLD CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN SHOW Padgate Community Centre, Station Road, Padgate WA2 0QG. Tel: 07557 980 644. SUNDAY JULY 27 LEEDS BS OPEN SHOW Berwick-in-Elmet Village Hall, Chapel Lane, Leeds LS15 4EL. Tel: 07748 740 794. SUNDAY JULY 27 SOMERSET BS GOLD CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN SHOW INC BUDGERIGARS OF COLOUR Victory Memorial Hall, 32 Tower Hill, Stogursey, Bridgewater, Somerset…