“Just Birds”

Guests: Greg Simmons, Les Cameron.
Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Date: 9 September 2022
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.

This meeting will include information about the QFS Auction on September 11, a short talk, a main presentation, a great raffle with a pair of birds to win, and lots of bird chatter at supper.

The Short Talk will be from Les Cameron speaking about “Pytilias and more”. Les is an astute finch breeder and well worth listening to.

The main presentation will be from Greg Simmons speaking on the topic of “Just Birds”.

Greg is another finch enthusiast who started keeping birds when he was ten. A gift of three Zebra Finches from his cousin kicked it off and he was hooked. Greg immediately got his father to build him an aviary and over the next ten years the collection grew to include a range of finches, parrots and pheasants.

It was during this time that Greg met Don Sear and Russel Kingston around the time that they and others had formed QFS. He learned a great deal from these two. Work and life then intervened as Greg spent 8 years working overseas in Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. He returned to Australia in 1981 and graduated as a vet in 1986 before spending 20 years in private practice.

In 2005 Greg commenced a PhD culminating in 12 years as lecturer in companion animal surgery at the vet school at the UQ Gatton campus. Five years ago Greg commenced building up his finch collection again as he approached retirement and has now established an interesting collection in a well constructed set of aviaries. So, he has come full circle and is still building aviaries! Greg presentation will cover his history with birds and his current collection.

This will be an interesting talk and might prompt a few other new members to consider giving a talk in future. So come along or Zoom in.

If you want further details, contact me on gary.fitt@bigpond.com
Gary Fitt
Vice President, QFS
Mob: 0429 457 615

“A Beginner’s Tale”

Guests: Greg Simmons, George Brandt
Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Date: 8 July 2022
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Sales Tables: from 6:30 – 7:30pm.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.

This meeting will include some comments on the recent Finches ’22 Convention held in Brisbane, along with a short talk, the main presentation, a great raffle with a pair of birds to win, and lots of bird chatter at supper.

The Short Talk will be from Greg Simmons speaking about “My aviaries and birds”.

The main presentation will be from George Brandt speaking on the topic of ”A Beginners Tale”.

George kept birds way back in the 1960’s when according to him all you needed was a decent trap to stock an aviary. There wasn’t too much attention paid to nutrition and housing in those times by young boys. Teenage years, distractions, marriage and children then intervened and George had no birds for a long time. However, now retired he has more time and returned to finches. George joined QFS to round out his knowledge of Finches and also joined the Committee and recently attended the Finches ’22 Convention. He has quickly learned that he never knew much about finches back in the 60’s. In reality, he says he is now a Beginner and his talk is designed to encourage others to give Finch Keeping a go and show that you don’t need a big aviary setup to find great pleasure and some success.

This will be an interesting talk and might prompt a few other new members to consider giving a talk in future. So come along or Zoom in.

“Reflections on my avicultural collection”

Guest: Noah Till

Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Sales Tables: from 6:30 – 7:30pm.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.

Noah Till is a young man from Toowoomba who has made quite an impact in the short 8 years that he has been keeping birds. Noah has a real passion for finches and came to prominence in 2018 when he won the Australian Birdkeeper Young Birdkeeper Writing Competition.

He currently has a mixed collection of about 60 birds comprising 5 species of parrots, 9 species of Finches, 1 species of Dove and some Quail. One species Noah is focussed on is the Javan Munia where he is having success recovering a pure strain of this species which has nearly disappeared. Noah’s passion is clearly reflected in his stated aim for aviculture – “In pursuit of better education and breeding practices for both threatened and common species to secure their place in Australian collections”. We desperately need young people like Noah engaging with finch aviculture, so come along or Zoom in to hear and support him.

“Threatened Species in Australian Aviculture:

“some suggestions for the involvement of private aviculture and clubs.”

Guest: Graeme Phipps ( Victoria )

Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Sales Tables: from 6:30 – 7:30pm.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.

Graeme Phipps has had a long association with aviculture, keeping birds himself, but also working in bird related roles for many years. Graeme is currently Director of conservation programs with not-for-profit charity Recovery And Restoration of Endangered Species (R.A.R.E.S.) Foundation Limited.

His previous roles include at the Macleay Museum University of Sydney, Curator of birds and later principal curator of Taronga Zoo, teacher of captive animal management. He was until recently President of the Avicultural Society of New South Wales, had several roles in the A.F.A when it operated, and was Chairman of the Exotic Birds Committee of N.E.B.R.S. Clearly Graeme has had great involvement in avicultural issues and policies and his message in this talk is relevant to everyone.

“My finch collection, my experiences….”

Guest: Shane Hauschildt

Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Sales Tables: from 6:30 – 7:30pm.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.

Anyone who has visited Shane Hauschildt will know him as one of the most accomplished finch breeders in south-east Queensland. Shane has kept birds for 25 years now and in the last 10 years has built a magnificent complex of aviaries where he applies meticulous care for his birds. Clean, never overcrowded and with a consistent, well designed diet, Shane achieves great results with a range of native and foreign species. He has had success and heartache with species like Bluecaps and Lesser Redbrows, but on the whole he consistently produces top birds.

Shane is also a breeder of top quality Droughtmaster cattle and for a time he was showing his finches and his cattle at local shows, both with great success. But these days he only shows cattle. This will be Shane’s first ever talk about his birds and will be an opportunity to draw out his wisdom. Be there or be on Zoom.

“Reflections on My Avicultural Collection”

CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

Guest: Noah Till

Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Sales Tables: from 6:30 – 7:30pm.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.

Noah Till is a young man from Toowoomba who has made quite an impact in the short 8 years that he has been keeping birds. Noah has a real passion for finches and came to prominence in 2018 when he won the Australian Birdkeeper Young Birdkeeper Writing Competition.

He currently has a mixed collection of about 60 birds comprising 5species of parrots, 9 species of Finches, 1 species of Dove and some Quail. One species Noah is focussed on is the Javan Munia where he is having success recovering a pure strain of this species which has nearly disappeared.

Noah’s passion is clearly reflected in his stated aim for aviculture – “In pursuit of better education and breeding practices for both threatened and common species to secure their place in Australian collections”. We desperately need young people like Noah engaging with finch aviculture, so come along or Zoom in to hear and support him.

Noah’s presentation will follow a short talk consisting of an interview with an experienced breeder.

“Learnings from Endangered Species Programs – The role of aviculture and more”

Guest: Glen Holland

Venue: Hall, corner of Wynnum & Thynne Rds, Morningside.
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Sales Tables: from 6:30 – 7:30pm