BCSA July Report 2026

The BSSA kicked off the month with a packed and engaging program for members. Many braved the elements to get out, on a wintery Adelaide night. The evening began with a brand-new segment, “Budgies with Brice”, hosted by Brice Wheaton. In this interactive session, Brice examined selected budgerigar varieties, starting with Opaline and Opaline AOSV. Brice used images from this year’s Nationals to explain the key features of the variety and guide discussion around what members should be looking for on the bench. George England then presented his annual ANBC round-up, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from the bird room and providing a detailed rundown of the 50th Annual Trill™ Expert ANBC National Championships on the Gold Coast. Rosettes from the Nationals were also presented to Club members, along with the coveted “Logie” for the Violet class, awarded to Jason and Wayne Weidenhofer.

To conclude the evening, popular Member on the Couch session, where George England asked the hard questions of nominated guest Sue Adams. Long-time member Kay Harding was also awarded Life Membership of the BSSA, a wonderful recognition of her ongoing contribution and commitment to the Club. Kay is a familiar and valued presence at BSSA meetings, doing a fantastic job each month coordinating the Club raffle and supporting the social side of our gatherings. Her dedication, reliability and contribution over many years have been greatly appreciated by members. Congratulations, Kay, on this well-deserved honour.

June also saw Nigel Tonkin take part in a radio interview with The Generation Gap on Tribe FM in Willunga, alongside Trevor Garand and Emcee Blase. This is a wonderful opportunity to promote the budgerigar fancy to the wider community and share more about our hobby with a local audience. Nigel will be back in the saddle this Friday, July 3rd, at Tribe FM.

June also saw the North East Budgerigar Society come together twice, firstly for its monthly meeting, which also incorporated the Club’s annual tender sale. Silent auctions always generate plenty of interest and discussion, and this year was no exception, with 28 people in attendance and a good selection of birds available to members. There were certainly some great bargains to be had throughout the evening, with members taking the opportunity to strengthen their breeding rooms and add some useful birds to their teams. The top-priced bird on the night was a Dennis Lomman Normal Violet, which sold for $200. The evening also served as the collection and handover point for the North East Mega Auction for June. With birds changing hands from both the tender sale and the Mega Auction, it was a busy and productive night for the Club and its members.

A post-Nationals release of the interim BCSA Status Points Summary for the 2026 showing season also occurred in June. Congratulations to Peter Brumby, Dave Miller and Paul Wilton, who have earned promotion to Intermediate status for the remainder of the 2026 season. This is a great achievement and reflects their continued success on the show bench. Congratulations also to Holmes Family and J & W Weidenhofer, who have secured sufficient points to be classed as Champion Exhibitors for 2026. This is a significant achievement and recognises their consistent success at the highest level.

Later in the month, Port Pirie hosted an aviary visit to Shiralee Reardon and her partner Jeff at their beautiful property in the Barossa Valley. The setting was absolutely pristine and provided a wonderful backdrop for the regional cohort to come together. It was also the first time the club had gathered since the Nationals, making it a fitting occasion to recognise those members who had birds selected in the South Australian state team. Rosettes were presented to the successful exhibitors, along with the Logie awarded to Graham McCallum for his outstanding national win in the Greys.

Following the meeting formalities, Peter Glassenbury delivered a thoroughly engaging talk titled My Life in Budgerigars. It proved to be a fascinating insight into a lifetime spent in the hobby. Peter shared stories ranging from the rather unusual circumstances that led to his first pair of budgerigars, involving his sister and some questionable interactions with darts, through to his first judging assignment at just 10 years of age, judging a class of Fallows. From there, his journey has included becoming ANBC President and contributing to just about every role imaginable within the budgerigar fancy. It was a talk filled with history, humour and perspective, and one that was very well received by those in attendance.

Once the formalities were complete and the meal had been enjoyed, members made their way to the bird room. It quickly became clear that there is a strong affection for the Crested variety, with several pairs up and some lovely birds flying. Aviary visits are always a great opportunity to share ideas, admire different breeding setups and enjoy the social side of the hobby, and this visit was certainly no exception. As always, the meat tray raffle proved popular, with Troy Holmes taking home the prize on the day, after a possible record number of failed attempts in previous Pirie visits.

The North East Fisher Show marked the beginning of the Adult Show season, attracting just over 150 birds and providing a strong start to this important part of the exhibition calendar. The show also created a little bit interest, with four Intermediate exhibitors competing at the same event for the first time this year. The standard across the Intermediate section was excellent, and the competition within the group was apparent.

Major Awards Judge Wayne Bandt was ably assisted on the day by Ian Wise and Troy Holmes, with exhibitors presenting a quality team of birds across the various sections and classes. Official honours for the day went to Ken & Janet Harris, who were awarded Best in Show with a Normal Grey Green Cock. Best Opposite Sex in Show was awarded to Peter Brumby, competing in his first show as an Intermediate, with a Cinnamonwing Yellow Faced Grey Hen. It was an outstanding result and a great way to begin his time in the Intermediate ranks. The strength in the Intermediate hens was apparent, when Dave Miller achieved Reserve Opposite Sex in Show with a Dominant Pied Spangle Sky hen.

In the Novice section, Patrick O’Rourke claimed Best Novice with a Cinnamonwing Grey Cock, while Pauline Lampre was awarded Best Opposite Sex Novice with a Spangle Grey Green Hen. The Open section was also strongly contested, with Ken & Janet Harris taking out Best Open, and John Mulley awarded Best Opposite Sex Open with a Recessive Pied Dark Green cock.

Congratulations to all exhibitors who supported the show, and thank you to everyone involved in organising, judging, stewarding, benching, and assisting throughout the day. Events like the Fisher Show are only possible because of the continued support and effort of members across the fancy.

A full set of results can be accessed using the link here

Finally, the month rounded out with the Port Pirie Any Age Show. Congratulations to Geoff Edwards, who took out Grand Champion of Show, and Champion Opposite Sex. Best Intermediate & Best Intermediate Opposite Sex went to the Longbottom Family, while Graham Wilson took out Best Novice, and Best Novice Opposite Sex.