Innholdsfortegnelse for September 3, 2025 i Cage & Aviary Birds

SEABIRDS ON AUGUST 13, the Scottish Government launched its Seabird Conservation Action Plan, a commitment to protect and restore the country’s best-loved yet most threatened wildlife. This marks an important step forward in delivering a priority action from the Scottish biodiversity delivery plan 2024-2030, as well as protecting marine species, the government explains. Cabinet secretary for Climate Action, Gillian Martin, said: “The climate crisis, invasive non-native species, marine litter and access to food are contributing to declining seabird numbers around the world. “Publishing the Scottish Seabird Conservation Action Plan today marks a vital step forward in protecting some of our most iconic and vulnerable marine species and sets out actions to collectively tackle pressures affecting seabirds. “I’m confident that with concerted effort and shared responsibility, we can stop the declines…

ZOOS & BIRDPARKS CHESTER ZOO HAS recently welcomed its first guests to The Reserve, a new resort with 51 lodges overlooking a private savannah and a peaceful lake. Built using sustainable materials, the resort is set to attract 35,000 additional visitors to the zoo each year, and a projected spend of over £10 million annually with all profits reinvested into its charitable conservation work. Mark Vercoe, birds general manager at Chester Zoo, said: “The Reserve is designed to be inviting to UK wildlife. It includes a sand martin hotel, swift boxes and the lake at its heart offers a new habitat for British waterfowl that didn’t previously exist. “While there are no aviaries in The Reserve itself, the lodges are very close to the Heart of Africa zone. People staying…

AUGUST CAME AND went in a flash, and we are now starting a slightly quieter month. Hopefully with lots more glorious sunshine and fewer visitors now the children have started to go back to school. The good weather is certainly attributing to an increase in breeding behaviour, seen in many of our avian inhabitants. This is normally seen at the beginning of the breeding season but rarely the end. That’s something I hate writing as I enjoy the build up to the season but know that come the end of August/beginning of September we have shorter days and darker nights approaching. The scarlet ibis, which have historically laid and reared later in the year, have reared three chicks so far and hopefully will manage another couple before the season is…

OUR CENTRE PAGES this week contain an interview with that admirable budgerigar man Geoff Bowley. I knew that Geoff and his late father, the great DTS Bowley, had each won best at the Club Show. I hadn’t appreciated that both had also now served as BS president. Two outstanding achievements, for which Geoff deserves sincere congratulations. To be BS president is no easy ride. I recall some years ago when Maurice Roberts served. Maurice’s approach to the job was that he should truly serve by making himself available to as many clubs and shows as he could during his year. I saw him in action, judging a table show at London & Southern Counties BS. He travelled all over the country, on his own initiative - and he was based…

WBO goes from strength to strength The following is a record of the World Budgerigar Organisation August 2025 circular, which was compiled and distributed by GHALIB AL-NASSER WORLD BUDGERIGAR ORGANISATION AS WE are in late summer in the Northern Hemisphere, most countries and fanciers are busy with their show season and no doubt a few countries in the Southern Hemisphere are at the end of their show season. The WBO Executive Committee wishes all budgerigar exhibitors a successful show season. WBO Meeting: we extend our best congratulations to the General Council of The Budgerigar Society (UK) for inviting the WBO to its 30th meeting to celebrate the BS centenary year. It was the BS who were instrumental in organising the first international meetings in 1992 and 1993 that led to…

EAST ANGLIAN ZFS is urging all new and veteran exhibitors to support the next show on October 12 at Bar Hill Village Hall, CB23 8SU. There are too many shows being cancelled due to lack of support, so if you want shows to continue please attend your regional events. Along with good prize money there are extra products from sponsors Gold Chips, Haith’s Foreign Seed Mix, Aviform and Ropa bird products for successful exhibitors to potentially win. Schedules have been sent out to past attendees but if you would like one please contact the show secretary at Lawrence-mann@sky.com You are welcome to attend as a visitor to view the show zebra finches and buy birds from the sales section. LANCASHIRE BB&HC the recent August meeting must go down as one…

OPEN SHOW? LET US KNOW! Email details – name of club, show date, venue, contact, judges and schedule availability – to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk Our monthly Open Shows listing will appear again in October BASILDON CBS – September 8, Felmores Community Centre, Northlands Park, Basildon, Essex SS13 1SD, 7.30pm. Hen bird show. Enquiries: 07880 707 502. BRISTOL BS – September 8, Little Stoke Baptist Church, Kingsway, Little Stoke, Bristol BS34 6JW, 7pm. Meeting. Enquiries: 07748 740 794. CARSHALTON, WALLINGTON & MORDEN CBS – September 14, Darby and Joan Club, Cooper Crescent, Carshalton SM5 2DL, 7-9pm. Table sale. Please note the change in venue and our new home for the Sunday evening sales. Enquiries: For large bags of seed, contact Andy on 07976 144 761, general sale enquiries: 0208 644 9363. DONCASTER CBS…

FANCY WINNING A 12.5kg bag of Super Deluxe Parrot & Fruit Mix or Conure Mix from Countrywide? Countrywide’s Super Deluxe Parrot & Fruit Mix is specially formulated to provide parrots with essential nutrition, variety and stimulation. It contains a well-balanced blend of 26 ingredients, including seeds, fruits, nuts and berries. It’s a great choice for all medium-to-large parrots. 5 × 12.5kg bags to be won! Countrywide’s Conure Mix has been carefully crafted to meet all the nutritional requirements of conures and small parrots. The delicious mix includes over 20 high-quality ingredients. Countrywide bird food is produced by Albert E James, which has been manufacturing premium bird seed since 1962. Many of its mixes are used by many top breeders and show winners. For a chance to win your choice of…

BTO IS HIRING THE BRITISH TRUST of Ornithology (BTO) is looking for youth advisory panel members on a remote, voluntary basis. The position is for applicants who are 16 to 24 years old who are passionate about nature, as well as being able to attend one meeting a month either in-person or online. The closing date for applications is Sunday September 7 at 11.59pm with interviews taking place on Zoom from September 22 to October 3. Find out more about the role at britishtrustforornithology.postingpanda.uk PEATLAND RESTORATION AIDS BIRDS THE RESTORATION OF peatlands on Exmoor is aiding important bird species such as the grasshopper warbler, reed bunting, whinchat and snipe. The Moorland Bird report by the Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) has identified population increases for these species, which oppose trends…

YOUR news story last week (“Scientists discover language ‘shortcuts’ in birdsong study”) was intriguing, if rather short on detail! You quote one of the researchers, who says: “In human language, if we say something a lot, we tend to shorten it - like saying ‘TV’ instead of ‘television’. And it turns out that the same pattern exists in birdsong.” If true, that sounds as though it could be an extremely important discovery - but it begs so many questions. For example, how would “abbreviating” bits of a cock bird’s song help that bird to be more assertive territorially? Or to be more effective in attracting a mate? From my own knowledge of birdsong, I would agree that repeated phrases tend to be short. Think of the chaffinch’s stereotyped song, over…

SOFTBILLS FOR most UK breeders of softbills, the 2025 breeding season is more or less coming to an end. Still there is the occasional breeding being reported in collections here and there. At the time of writing, for example, I know a friend who has bearded reedlings (Panurus biarmicus) currently with chicks and another pair that has fledged two chicks. He also has von der Decken hornbill (Tockus deckeni) chicks walled into a nest-box. His CCTV cameras show at least two chicks in the box. His lilac-breasted rollers (Coracias caudatus) have been on three eggs but unfortunately they were clear. That is such a shame because this species is now very scarce in aviculture in the UK. Another lad has had his red-billed magpies (Urocissa erythroryncha) build recently, but the…

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: September 18, 2025.…

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 so it reaches us in time for the relevant issue (e.g. October shows must reach us by the middle of September). Email: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2025 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6 SWINDON BUDGERIGAR SOCIETY GOLD CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW Pinetrees Community Centre, The Circle, Pinehurst, Swindon SN2 1RF Tel: 01285 861 772 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7 NORFOLK FBA OPEN SHOW Easton College, Bawburgh Road, Norwich NR9 5DX Tel: 07977 191 070 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14 FORTH VALLEY BS SILVER CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN SHOW Beancross & Newlands Community Hall, Montgomery Street, Grangemouth FK3 8QR Tel: 01776 840 673 OCTOBER 2025 SUNDAY OCTOBER…

DAVID HARMER IT IS with great sadness that I report the death of our friend David Harmer on July 18 at the age of 85 while in hospital, reports Ghalib Al-Nasser. I have known David since the mid-1980s when I got involved in the Surrey & Sussex BA and then the Croydon BS, neither of which exist today. David kept budgerigars for many years, well before he joined the Budgerigar Society in 1981 and then the London & Southern Counties BS in 1997. We worked together at Croydon BS during the beginning of the century with him as secretary and I as chairman until I moved away to Essex/Suffolk in 2009. He also became president of the Croydon BS. David joined the London & Southern Counties BS (L&SCBS) committee early…