National finch &
softbill Association
NEWSLETTER June 2013
Welcome to our latest newsletter. This one has been a long time coming – but yes
everyone is busy.
In this newsletter we:
• outline a number of current NFSA activities,
• launch the next national finch and softbill census
• learn that the next Gouldian finch count in the Kimberley will be the last,
• hear about the coming Finches’ 14 convention
• and get a range of news from around the states.
The National Finch and Softbill Association provides a national voice and representation
for finch and softbill enthusiasts across Australia. All the major finch speciality clubs and
societies are affiliated as are many more general avicultural groups, and a number of
individuals. We don’t produce magazines, run regular meetings or operate bird sales. Our
role is to be a discussion forum and sounding board for nationally relevant issues which
challenge the future of aviculture and to work with our members to encourage a range of
initiatives which should bring enduring benefits. To maximise our value it is critical that
all NFSA contact people provide two way communication between NFSA and members
of their clubs and societies. It is also critical that any finch and softbill breeder is able to
raise issues with NFSA and that we can respond.
The last major NFSA event was our highly successful conference in June 2012. A short
report is included here. We have a Committee meeting coming up in July during the
UBSSA Seminar in Adelaide, so if you wish to raise an issue or make a suggestion please
do so soon so that we can consider it.
At the 2012 AGM held at the NFSA Conference at Healesville, Victoria the following
NFSA officebearers were elected for 2012-13:
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President – Gary Fitt (Qld) – [email protected]
Vice President – David Pace (Vic) - [email protected]
Treasurer – Keith Gargett (Qld) - [email protected]
Secretary – Glen Holland (Vic) - [email protected]
Qld Rep – Ian Brown - [email protected]
Vic Rep – Glenn McCarthy - [email protected]
NSW Rep – Bob Barnes - [email protected]
WA Rep – Brian McQuire - [email protected]
Tas Rep – Denis Daniels (acting) - [email protected]
SA Rep – Richard Chilton - [email protected]
ACT Rep – Ray Ballantyne - [email protected]
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National finch &
softbill Association
Sponsor a Junior to attend Finches ‘14
One upcoming event where all NFSA member clubs can participate is the Finches ’14
Convention. As in the past there is a plan to have sponsored juniors attend the
Convention as a way to stimulate their interest and expertise in finch breeding. Your club
could consider sponsoring a local junior birdkeeper for the price of the early bird
registration ($275). Please consider this within your clubs. Each junior must have a
designated guardian present at the Convention. NFSA will sponsor one and maybe two.
Riverina Finch Society folds
One concerning piece of news is that one of our member clubs, the Riverina Finch
Society has recently shut down. This follows the tragic death of former president Noelene
Annetts, late last year. Noelene was a driving force for the club and it seems her death
may have spelled the end for the club as well. The current RFS magazine will be the last.
This is tragic for an area with many finch breeders, and an unfortunate end for what had
been a very active club until recently.
NFSA Initiatives
This event has led the NFSA Committee to begin gathering information on the status and
trajectory of all member clubs to understand whether memberships are steady, growing or
falling. We know there are many pressures on the hobby of aviculture these days and a
number of clubs struggle to remain viable.
Other initiatives we are currently working on include:
• Collecting information on the registration requirements and costs for the keeping
of native birds in all States, potentially as a precursor to seeking ways to have
more consistent requirements.
• Gathering information on price guides for finches across the country. This is
simply to allow us to identify and seek to understand any differences for
particular species. We know there are differences in price for various reasons and
we do not intend to produce a national price guide.
• Launching the next national finch census. This is where we need as many finch
breeders as possible to contribute. We have gained valuable insights from the
census.
• Continuing to seek ways to maintain involvement in aviculture and particularly
ways to encourage juniors to become involved in keeping birds.
If you have any thoughts on these issues please contact me or your State representative.
Gary Fitt President, NFSA
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National finch &
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Time for the next National Finch CENSUS
On two occasions in the past, in 2008 and 2010, NFSA has conducted a census of finch
and softbill numbers held by the members of NFSA affiliated clubs. Those census results
have provided very useful insights into the current plight of a range of finch species and
underpin many conservation efforts now underway to secure aviary stocks.
The aims of the census are:
 to provide guiding data on captive populations of finches and softbills in
Australian aviaries
 to establish trends in population over time
 to identify species that would benefit from coordinated breeding programs
But the census is only useful if a large number of people complete it. It is totally
anonymous, so your security is guaranteed. We don’t want to know who you are or your
address (although your State would be helpful), we simply want you to record the
numbers of each species that you hold and send the form in.
The census form will be available in many formats. A copy is included with this
newsletter, it is also available for download from the QFS website (www.qfs.org.au) and
will be circulating through a SurveyMonkey email survey format.
This census will run from August 2013 to January 2014 and the more birdkeepers who
respond the more valuable will be the information. We know we won’t get everybody to
respond, but the relative numbers of species give us valuable information on which
species are rare or becoming rarer.
Note that it is much better if we get one census form per person, rather than aggregated
numbers from multiple people. If each form relates to one person we can calculate
statistics on the proportion of respondents who hold each species.
After each census the NFSA does a comprehensive analysis of overall numbers and
trends across the country and publishes the analysis for all to see. The 2010 census
included over 36,000 birds. Results for the 2013 Census will be reported at the Finches
’14 Convention where it will no doubt produce lots of discussion.
So please complete a census form and return it to myself or David Pace (details are on
the census form) by mail or email.
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National finch &
softbill Association
News from Save the Gouldian Fund
THE LAST COUNT
Dr Sarah Pryke
Sadly, the 2013 Gouldian Census will be our last. It is sad because it has become an
iconic event, which as well as serving a critical function, has also been huge fun with
many people turning up for it year after year, including many volunteers from various
destinations overseas.
However, it is definitely not all sad news – especially for the Gouldians. Indeed, this
count is our last one because we have expanded our work over such a wide area now that
we can no longer effectively use volunteers to census the birds manually. Instead, and
excitingly, we will be trialling recent developments in satellite tracking, whereby birds
will fitted with tiny sensors that record all their movements (via satellite). This
technology will enable us, for the first time ever, to determine dispersal patterns of both
adults and juveniles, the distances moved by individuals during the non-breeding season
(i.e. their migratory phases) and also, importantly, their survival. Over the last years, both
researchers and volunteers have been puzzled about a number of curious patterns from
the census data. Why are there so few adults and so many juveniles? Where have all the
unbanded birds come from? Where do all the banded birds go? Have they dispersed or
died? This technology will now be able to answer these fundamental questions and
provided unprecedented insight into the Gouldian finch. So, although we are sad that this
will be our last count, we are also excited at the prospects of taking this new and
innovative project into the future.
In conjunction with monitoring the movement and survival of the birds, we will also
continue to work hard on increasing both the size and connectivity of Gouldian finch
breeding populations. Our nest box programme, which started in 2008, has been
incredibly successful with addressing this first objective. Indeed, in our first stage, we
placed nest-boxes, which are specially designed to meet the specific requirements of the
Gouldians, in their known breeding sites, and found a resulting population growth of
between 130-380%.
In recent times we have initiated stage two, which is to use nest boxes as a reintroduction
tool to reintroduce Gouldians back into suitable habitat that they used to be found in, but
which they haven’t occupied for decades. Although this stage has only been going for the
last couple of years, it is already proving a great success. Many of the areas have been
colonised within a single breeding season, and thus the previously small and isolated
populations are rapidly expanding over a much wider area.
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National finch &
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Along with stage two, we are also embarking on stage three, which is to use nest-boxes as
a management tool to restore and create suitable habitat in their increasingly disturbed
habitats. Over the last year we have been working with private landowners, pastoralists,
and mining and agricultural developments to use nest-boxes to offset land clearing and
help promote and protect habitat for Gouldian finches.
Overall, we now have well over 2,500 nest boxes installed and in the last few years, have
been steadily moving east, south and west from our home base of Wyndham. These
boxes now cover hundreds of kilometres from our base site and this year, we are also
setting a new site in Queensland, an area from which the Gouldian is thought to almost be
extinct.
Therefore, while we have loved the count and would love to continue with it, our work
has extended so far that it is no longer a feasible exercise.
However, we would never have got this far without the help of our volunteers and so we
would like to take this opportunity of giving you all a heartfelt thanks. We really
appreciate all your time, energy and interest, and hope that you will continue to support
us.
We would also like to take this opportunity of thanking all of you who have made a nest
box donation. Without you, we could not have afforded to do Stage One never mind
Stages Two and Three!
So, to all our count regulars,
we look forward to seeing
you once again on the 1st
September and for those who
have often thought of coming
on the count.
THIS IS YOUR LAST
CHANCE!
Book in with David Myers
NOW.
Contact David by email:
[email protected]
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National finch &
softbill Association
News from Victoria – David Pace
Changes to regulations in Victoria come into effect in June 2013
The main changes from a finch and softbill point of view are:
• plumhead finches are off license completely
• sacred kingfishers are now allowed to be kept
white-browed wood swallows are allowed to be kept
Other areas of interest to the wider avicultural community includes
• eastern rosellas are off license completely
• glossy black cockatoos go onto the advanced license
• the 6 month rule still stands, whereby any purchases must be held for 6 months
prior to re-selling. This has been a contentious issue as it is difficult to enforce
and causes issues for breeders if they need to dispose of a recently purchased bird.
• license holders must put their license number with their advertisement when
advertising licensed birds
Youth and Aviculture
Keen to promote aviculture to a new, younger generation, the Geelong Branch of the
ASA, decided to hold a Youth Night. Speakers Sacchi Rose– Grigg and Shaun VigorSmith, both aged 10, were our special guest speakers. Sacchi and Shaun both have
aviaries at home and care for birds in the Torquay College Walk-In Aviary. Their
Powerpoint focused on both the school and their personal aviaries.
Many families attended and were provided with free give away items such as Talking
Birds newspapers, ABK pens and book marks and past issues of Australian Aviculture.
Prior to the formal presentations, member Joey Bastick, bought in her own pet Hahn’s
macaw and allowed the children a close and personal encounter. Needless to say, the
macaw was a huge hit!
The presentation by Shaun and Sacchi was excellent and had both young and older
audience members captivated. After some questions, the lucky door prizes were drawn.
The major prize of a new aviary, valued at over $400 was won by Imogen Wake, aged
10. Other prizes included 9 subscriptions to ASA, ABK’s A Guide to Avian Health and
various nest boxes. The night culminated in a supper that consisted of party pies and
other ‘kid friendly’ treats.
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National finch &
softbill Association
This was a special night that left many young people inspired and helped promote
aviculture to a wider community. Special thanks to the ASA committee, Sheryll Steel–
Boyce from Australian Bird Keeper and Lloyd Marshall from Talking Birds.
Sacchi and Shaun delivered their talk again at the NFSA Conference at Healesville
Sanctuary last year. Their talk was excellent and led to great discussion regarding the
need to attract younger members into aviculture.
Working with the Community – an item from Mornington Peninsula
Aviculture Society Inc. communicated by David Over
Back in October 2011Mornington Peninsula Avicultural Society was approached by
Larissa Daddo; a parent from Redhill Consolidated Primary School seeking advice on an
aviary the parents where building. David Renshaw and I visited the school situated on
Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.
After a discussion on what species best suited the aviary and other matters concerning the
aviary we went back to our committee and it was decided to give them our full support
now and in the future. The club supplied nest boxes, carry boxes, nets, etc. We also
helped in fitting out the aviary; the school already had some Cockatiels. We offered to
purchase other species from members, but most were donated. They included King Quail,
Diamond Doves, Bourkes , Double-bar Finches, Red Face Parrot Finches, Gouldians,
Longtails , Canaries and
Princess Parrots. The
classroom nearest to the
aviary looks after the
birds which they are all
very eager to take part
in. Each February we
give a PowerPoint
presentation on how to
look after their charges
and back it up with
regular visits throughout
the year. This is mainly
to remove excess birds
mostly of which go to
children’s homes.
Last year we were invited to the NFSA Conference at Healesville Sanctuary to give a talk
on this venture. Since then we as a club have continued to support the school. We are
now involved with ‘Focus;’ a large complex situated a few kilometres from the school
which provides disability and supported accommodation. They had a rundown aviary in
the centre of their grounds. We staged a club working bee doing repairs and fitting it out
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National finch &
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and again releasing donated birds. It was great to see a student representing RedHill
Consolidated Primary School with a pair of Bourkes they had bred, which were then
presented to ‘Focus’ as a gift. Again, we will support this venture now and in the future,
hoping this might inspire other clubs to get involved in their community.
[This is a great example of the impact that avicultural societies can have with the
community – a model for us all. Well done Mornington. Gary Fitt]
Recent Bird Sales in Victoria
Sales in Victoria have generally been very well attended by both sellers and buyers. If the numbers
attending sales is anything to go by, aviculture is in a healthy period. David pace attended the Geelong,
Bendigo and Ararat Branch sales of the ASA and was impressed by the numbers and variety of birds
offered. Finches were generally well represented at these sales, however certain species such as pictorellas,
crimson, mask and yellow-rumps were few and far between. In fact no yellow-rumps were noted at the
sales mentioned. Below is a report reprinted from ‘The Journal’, the publication of the Geelong Branch of
the ASA.
The Geelong Sale - Murray McRae
We were pleased with the conduct of the sale and the result for the club. It looks like we have again
returned around our best profit figures for the event. This is a good result because it enables us to progress
with programs like ‘Youth in Aviculture’, which we initiated last year.
Some facts and figures from the sale:
• Number of sellers (including trade) was 108 and occupied 146 sites.
• All sites in the main hall were occupied with the only space not used being in the outside pavilion
used for non-bird sellers.
• There were a number of bird sellers who applied to come but could not be accommodated in our
restricted space.
• We had sellers attend from many areas of Victoria and some from New South Wales, Queensland
and South Australia.
• The number of people attending was around 1200 – we don’t have details of those under 16 as
they get in free.
Even though we did not have much time to detail the numbers and types of birds presented, there appeared
to be a good variety of both parrots and finches. Canaries were plentiful, while cockatiels and budgerigars
appeared in short supply.
Comments from the sellers were similar to previous years and indicated better sales were achieved with the
less expensive varieties. Non-licenced birds (Australian and Foreign) seemed to be more attractive to
buyers than those which require a licence.
Some sellers said that it was important to be at a sale as people then get to know you and often make follow
up purchases at a later time.
Silverbill Conservation Program in Victoria
The Silverbill Program is slowly gaining momentum here with at least 7 breeders involved with a total of
(Gary can you insert figure here) birds. The birds are breeding freely and the cooler southern weather is not
affecting them at all.
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National finch &
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News from South Australia – Richard Chilton
South Australia looks like getting a resurrected NPWS Fauna Advisory Committee. This
time separate committees will be set up for wildlife categories: birds, marsupials, reptiles
etc., instead of all categories being lumped into the one committee. South Australian
avicultural bodies will then work to revamp the permit system to overcome the leakage of
permit holders forced out by ever increasing costs. This leakage does of course impact on
the numbers held of those birds on permit. The bureaucrats just don’t get the simple fact
that if permit holders drop out due to costs increasing putting the price up the next year to
try and make up the shortfall only results in more drop outs!
The Avicultural Society of South Australia (ASSA) had its most successful ever Bird
Sale in April 2013. Numbers of both sellers and buyers were up. Finch numbers were
well up (a continuing trend over the last few years), and the clearance rate was excellent.
Biosecurity SA is an increasing worry. They seem to be trying to muscle in on all things
furred or feathered. Of course all the “help” they are offering is for a price. They have
even put a stop to the private sale of chooks eggs! Claim they are a potential health
hazard. They claim they have no interest in what they call “pet aviary birds”, at this
time. It’s the last part of the previous sentence that’s worrying. ASSA is closely
monitoring the situation.
_____________________________
News from NSW – Bob Barnes
Nothing earth shattering from NSW but the following points may be of interest:
• Dealers are all complaining that sales of birds are significantly down. They are
not only blaming the many Bird Sale Days but more on the current economic
factors. While common birds (<$60) continue to sell, the higher priced birds are
difficult to move.
• Reports from Sales support the dealers comments, with many birds remaining
unsold.
• A resurgence in the humble Bengalese is noticeable with a group trying to
resurrect the old Australia Bengalese Breeders Society. Manly Warringah show
saw more than 60 Bengalese with at least half of these being self.
• Shows have been quite well patronised holding their numbers to previous years.
• Typically breeders are reporting a disappointing season or maybe more an
unusual season. Reliable varieties haven’t produced while some quite difficult
species have flourished.
• Personally in my visits to many clubs and shows I seem to be seeing new people
about, many younger ones too. Of course this could simply be my memory fading
and the fact I am getting older and everyone looks younger.
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National finch &
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News from Western Australia – Brian McGuire
WA has tight regulations for importing birds from eastern Australia. Imports require a
Quarantine inspection which is only available between 0800 & 1530 Monday to Friday.
This often means that birds have to stay in Quarantine overnight until opening time next
day.
From July 1 people importing birds will also have to pay an inspection fee of $43.25 per
15 minutes or part thereof. There is also requirement for an Import permits ($20), and
exporting Australian birds also requires a permit (also $20).
The west now has a few finch breeding programs running. The following Program are
being run by Brian McGuire:
• black throat [parson] 6 participants 28 birds bred
• black throat [diggles] 7 participants 32birds bred
• tri-coloured nuns program has been very successful with many bred and so have
slowed it down
• yellowrump finch – there are not many in WA aviaries and having trouble in
sourcing well marked new blood
WA Finch Society has just commenced a pure red face parrot finch program.
Unfortunately WA Finch Society membership has declined significantly in the past 2
years & we are looking at ideas to boost our numbers
News from Queensland – Gary Fitt
QFS Finch Conservation Programs
QFS has conservation programs in place for four species – the African silverbill, Javan
munia, Rufuous backed manikin and Black Hooded Yellow Siskin. Details of the
programs are all similar.
Our program is very much controlled by QFS. Each species program is planned to run for
5 years and has a coordinator who must be a member of the QFS committee. QFS set
aside $5000 to start the Programs and QFS owns all the birds. The coordinator keeps all
the records and is responsible for liaising with volunteer breeders (VBs). VBs each
receive 2 pairs of DNA sexed young birds for which they pay only the cost of DNA
sexing. VBs then breed the birds on behalf of the Program and are required to return 80%
of what they breed. In reality most return all the young birds.
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National finch &
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For each species we aim to start in Year 1 with 8 pairs and four VBs each with 2 pairs. In
Year 2 we expand the number of VBs using new young pairs from progeny bred in that
Year. We then continue through years 3, 4 and 5 accumulating more VBs all the time. At
the end of year 5 all the VBs will get two young pairs of the species and all other young
will be sold into the open market at a much reduced price to ensure we get birds widely
dispersed.
Of the four species, African Silverbills and Javan Munias are the most advanced. Rufous
backs and Yellow Siskins are just getting underway and are much slower. With
Silverbills we started with four pairs from widely dispersed bloodlines with one breeder.
We are ahead of our projections and could achieve over 5000 birds by the end of Year 5.
African Silverbills Take Off
The QFS Silverbill Conservation
program is now into overdrive.
We now have around 60 active
volunteer breeders, with some 113
breeding pairs of African Silverbills
and a total of 540 birds that we know
about. We have another three new
volunteers waiting for birds and we
are happy to supply to anyone else
who wants to participate. Contact
Gary Fitt ([email protected]) if
you want to participate.
The program has been highly successful in distributing Silverbills to many parts of
Australia with birds as far north as Cairns, numerous pairs down in Victoria and in
Adelaide, throughout NSW and in many places in Queensland. 70% of VBs are in
Queensland, 30% elsewhere and 90% are QFS members. A notable feature is the number
of VBs who comment on what a pleasant bird the African Silverbill is to keep.
As we have progressed, the VB group has celebrated some milestones. Arthur Fisher at
Kingaroy bred the 200th silverbill in September 2012. We then raced passed the 300th on
November 24, 2012 (so fast that I am not sure who produced the 300th) and hit 400
silverbills in early March 2013 when Vic Boorman of Dayboro, Qld reported more
young. The 500th silverbill has now been reported by Peter Bouna (northwest of
Brisbane). Arthur, Vic and Peter all win a prize for their efforts.
Once again we are happy to provide silverbills to anyone who wishes to participate in the
program. There are plenty of young birds available NOW.
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National finch &
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Junior Support programs
QFS has a number of initiatives to support young bird keepers. Late last year we ran a
junior writing competition, with the first prize being an aviary constructed by a
professional aviary builder. The first prize was won by Eathan Leonard in Brisbane.
However, the QFS committee decided to award another three prizes and so through the
generosity of Lindsay Nutley another three aviaries were provided to Georgia Wruck,
Jessika Burville and Andrew Wyer. So we now have four young finch breeders all with
aviaries.
It is noteworthy that the first prize aviary was donated to QFS by another young breeder,
Julian Teh of Canberra. This great act of generosity has brought other youngsters closer
to the passion of finch breeding.
At the Finches ’11 Convention we had 7 juniors (aged between 14 and 18) who were
sponsored to attend. For the next convention the target is 14 sponsored juniors. So far we
have enough funding for 6. You or your club could sponsor a junior for Finches ’14.
Father and Son meeting presenters.
Continuing the Theme of juniors finch breeding, the June meeting of QFS featured tow
speaker, father and son duo Richard and Hamish Poli. They told the story of their
involvement with aviculture and the transition for Hamish after he won a sponsorship to
attend Finches ’11. He came away totally enthused and now has great success with his
aviaries.
FINCHES ’14 Convention is coming!!
The next International Finch Convention will occur in Brisbane, June 27-29 2014. Early
bird registration for Finches ’14 is now open. We have 16 speakers, 4 workshop
presentations, great aviary visits and much more. This great event is a must for any
serious finch or softbill enthusiast. Register now!
Full details from Gary Fitt at [email protected] or 07 32026779.
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National finch &
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National finch &
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NFSA Member Clubs, Societies and Affiliates:
Avicultural Society of Australia
Association of NSW Country Bird Exhibitors (including their 11 member clubs)
Avicultural Society of South Australia
Avicultural Society of Tasmania
Canary and Cagebird Federation of Australia (including multiple member clubs)
Canberra Finch Club
Finch Society of Western Australia
Hawkesbury Finch Club (Finch Society of Australia)
Hunter Finch Club (Finch Society of Australia)
Wollongong Finch Club (Finch Society of Australia)
Queensland Finch Society
Riverina Finch Society
Taree & District Canary & Finch Society
Yass and District Bird Club Inc.
Zebra Finch Society of Australia
NSW Finch Exhibitors Society
Kempsey-Macleay Bird Club
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