The Budgerigar Society - NCA Management Committee Report 24/06/2009
Two NCA awards were approved at the latest Management Committee meeting held at Fieldhead Hotel, Markfield on 24th June, 2009.
The first was an NCA Diploma and entry onto the Roll of Honour for Don and Irene Bardgett of the Waxbill Finch Society for many years of service to the foreign bird fancy, in particular as society secretaries and show secretaries, as UK first breeders of several species including the Whiskered Lorikeet, and currently as joint breeding record officers and publicity officers for the Waxbill Finch Society.
The second was a posthumous recognition of the outstanding contribution made to aviculture by the late Ian Hinze over a life time of bird keeping and breeding. He was the first UK breeder of the Mali Firefinch and enjoyed a reputation far beyond the UK as a foreign bird specialist through his many articles for Cage & Aviary Birds and other publications. His latest book on Waxbills is due to be published in the near future. Ian’s name will be entered into the Hall of Fame alongside many other legendary aviculturists of the past. The Roll of Honour and Hall of Fame can be viewed on the NCA website at www.nca.uk.net as can details of all the NCA’s award schemes.
NCA Chairman Dennis Webster and Canary Council Chairman, Barry Mills attended the latest meeting of the Bird Welfare Strategy Group in Coventry on 20th May at which the final draft of the consultation document on bird welfare was agreed. Now the NCA is embarked on a rewrite of its many welfare and advice sheets for bird keepers covering virtually every species, or groups of species, kept in the UK today. For beginners to bird keeping, the NCA is also producing a new edition of the colourful and practical guide “Welcome to Birdkeeping” which advises on the needs of the more common breeds of birds kept in the UK today and how they should be cared for.
An order has been placed for a new NCA stand to help publicise the organisation and promote the hobby of bird keeping. The new stand will be stocked with fact sheets and publications of interest to the seasoned and would-be bird keeper alike. The new stand will make its debut at the Bird Show of the Year in Stafford in October.
Steve Nesbitt of Grantham CBS was appointed CBS Liaison Officer at the NCA’s AGM in April and produced a comprehensive written report of his first two months in office. Not wasting a moment in an already busy life, Steve has been out and about talking to CBSs in his area and making telephone and email contact with others further afield. Steve and other CBS members attending the AGM drew attention to the need for more time and opportunity for CBSs to respond and contribute to NCA policies and activities. As a result the Management Committee reviewed and amended the timelines for contributions to AGM agendas and to the conditions required for other general meetings. We hope that this will improve communication between the NCA and its CBS members.
The next Management Meeting will take place on 19th August and the next AGM on 24th April,2010.