Guest Speaker: Graham Bull (NSW)

Finch Breeding Diets – a natural approach

Breeding finches is Graham Bull’s life-long interest, having learned much from his father Gus Bull. During the past 40 years Graham has kept and bred most of the species available in Australia over that time.  His main interest has always been the Estrildid finches, where he has been particularly successful. At his impressive aviaries near Coffs Harbour, Graham focussed on selective improvement of several finch species as well as regularly breeding some of the more challenging exotic species including the Black Rumped Waxbill which he spoke about at the Finches ’22 Convention. Having now moved Graham is re-establishing a collection and revising his approach to aviculture. At the recent Finches ’25 Convention Graham was the recipient of a QFS Award  “for long-standing and astute contributions of broad expertise to finch aviculture in Australia”. He is a deep thinker and excellent presenter – and you will learn much from this presentation.

This meeting is also our AGM, so come along to Tingalpa or join by Zoom.

Darwin’s Finches, the Gouldian finch and the Jacarini – how are they linked?

Speaker: Unfortunately our advertised speaker, Rebecca Bennett, is unwell. So at short notice a presentation will be given by Dr Gary Fitt, QFS President.

Venue: Tingalpa Uniting Church Hall, 61 Belmont Road, Tingalpa, Brisbane

Date: 1 August, 2025

Time: 6.30pm for 7.30pm start.

Gary first gave this talk to QFS in December 2013, so some of you may have heard it, but many will not have. It builds on a visit by Gary and Cheryl Mares to the Galapagos Islands where the main objective was to see Darwin’s Finches. This presentation will include some great images from the Galapagos, will discuss the evolutionary biology of Darwin’s Finches and then relates some historical and biological links to two other well known finches – the Gouldian and the Jacarini. You will see some science and be challenged to think deeply about what the links might be. Come along or join by Zoom for an interesting night.

Decoding our birds – how do we define a management regime for each species?

Speaker: Mike Fidler
Venue: Morningside Hall, corner Thynne Road and Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Date: 1 November 2024
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.

Renowned aviculturist, conservationist and Patron of QFS, Mike Fidler, will be our speaker for the AGM meeting in November and we are very pleased to have him back.

Mike established a worldwide reputation for his attention to detail and his constant experimenting for a better way as a Gouldian breeder in England, before moving to Australia to pursue his passion for the conservation of the wild Gouldian. He, and his wife Elisabeth, established the Save the Gouldian Fund and they have been the driving force behind an extensive research and on-ground conservation program.

At his magnificent breeding complex in the Watagan range north of Sydney, Mike seeks to understand the key to breeding success for all the species he works with and in this talk he will focus on the many aspects of defining a management regime tailored to particular species. This talk was given at the Finches ’22 Convention and is not to be missed as Mike will provide an information packed evening of value to all aviculturists. It will give you a taste of what you might hear at Finches ’25!

“Observation and implications in a mixed collection”

Speaker: Brad Mayger
Venue: Morningside Hall, corner Thynne Road and Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Date: 6 September 2024
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.

I’ve been keeping and breeding birds for over 45 years. During this time, aviary design has changed, species availability has changed, and personal preferences have meant that different assets have been focused on in the aviaries.

I have always loved the diversity of avian fauna, and this has manifest in always keeping a mixed and rather eclectic collection of birds. Some of the implications of this desire to keep mixed collections was the compatibility of species, the type of housing required, and the general husbandry needed for a mixed collection. Planted aviaries have always been maintained, as to me they are not only extremely aesthetically pleasing, but also allow the occupants to exhibit more natural behaviours, such as foraging in foliage, and insect collection.

It is the intention of this talk to give you an overview of the types of aviaries I have had, the species assemblages housed in these, and some great plant species used to showcase both the aviaries and their occupants.

Bird Travel Experiences in Italy (November 2023) and Vietnam (January 2024)

Speaker: Gary Fitt & Cheryl Marles
Venue: Morningside Hall, corner Thynne Road and Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Date: 2 August 2024
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.

Gary and Cheryl maintain a large collection of finches of many species and participate in finch showing, finch conservation and photography. They hosted an aviary visit and QFS show recently and have given many presentations to QFS. This one will cover two bird focussed trips from the last year.

Gary will talk about a trip to Italy in November 2023 which involved 5 days of visiting bird collections around northern Italy and culminated in attending the largest bird show in Italy, with 20,000 birds exhibited – an amazing experience. Cheryl will then talk about a bird photography trip to Vietnam with a small and dedicated band of photographers. Much time was spent in photographic hides and some stunning birds were seen as a result. Some of the locations were tough to get to but the results made it all worthwhile. Come along for a varied coverage of birds in aviculture and in the wild.

“Experiences with Beautiful Firetails and Red Crested Finches”

Speaker: Dave Whaley
Venue: Morningside Hall, corner Thynne Road and Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Date: 5 July 2024
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.

Our speaker for July is David Whaley, current President of the Mornington Peninsula Avicultural Society, member of Australian Aviculture Society, The Victorian Zebra Finch Society, and The Queensland Finch Society. David’s interest in birds is not just keeping them in captivity, he also enjoys travelling around Australia and the world seeing birds in captivity and in the wild, particularly species he keeps in his aviaries that appear in the wild. These highlights included Gouldian Finches in Wyndham (WA); Golden Shouldered Parrots in Queensland; and recently Turquoise Parrots near Wangaratta in Victoria.

David first started keeping birds at a young age when he kept budgerigars and zebra finches. In addition to breeding birds he enjoyed showing birds early on and has enjoyed experiencing this again in the last few years. Over the past 35 years, David has bred many other species, including large native Pigeons, Doves, Quail, Softbills, Parrots and Cockatoos, but his main passion is Finches and small Parrots, in particular rare and challenging species.

At the moment some of the birds he is concentrating on are Swift Parrots and Red and Blue Backed Western Rosellas. For QFS David will speak about his experiences of keeping Beautiful Firetails and Red Crested Finches – two challenging species. He will cover diet, housing, breeding and problems associated with these birds. Come along. We will persevere and try Zoom again.

The advantages and disadvantages of large planted finch aviaries in Melbourne

Speaker: Ken Moore
Venue: Morningside Hall, corner Thynne Road and Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Date: 7 June 2024 ( Second Friday of September )
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.

Ken and his wife live in the Yarra Ranges 60 km east of Melbourne. Like many of us Ken started young in the hobby of bird keeping with his first birds at 9 years old. Over the years he has kept parrots, finches, doves, quail, pheasants, Green peafowl and exotic waterfowl and over time built up a magnificent set of aviaries. At one time he also had several species of kangaroos and wallabies including some albino Red kangaroos, and a small herd of Indian Antelopes.

These days his collection is “much smaller”, though still huge, and features some great finches and parrots held in large planted open aviaries with small shelter areas. Ken concedes that he has always had a leaning towards finches – “They are so interesting to just sit and observe them going about their life”. In this talk Ken will reflect on his large planted finch aviaries – what was good, what was not. Which species did they suit and which not. You are sure to enjoy this presentation.