Founded in 2021, this friendly club exists in order to bring together and support newcomers to budgies and those who fancy developing their interest. WAYNE GREENING reports
THE Budgerigar Society had a pet section some years ago and it never really took off because the main focus of the Society was exhibition budgerigars. The new concept of a separate club came about prior to the covid pandemic, but was delayed because of lock-down issues. Eventually, The Budgerigar Club (TBC) was launched in November 2021.
We chose the name The Budgerigar Club because it was the original name of the Budgerigar Society, and it seemed befitting to celebrate the society’s long and illustrious history by using this name. The Budgerigar Club remains an affiliate of the Budgerigar Society.
The principal function of the club is to provide a support network to all owners of budgerigars and those who breed budgerigars mainly as pets. The Budgerigar Club will also provide a pathway from pet budgerigars to exhibition budgerigars for those members who choose to take it. Budgerigars make wonderful companions, and the aim of this club is to enhance the enjoyment of ownership.
Since I became the lead administrator of TBC in March 2023, the Club has attracted many new members and after the setting up of its Facebook page, it has attracted more 1,200 online members.
TBC has one member in particular that I have followed on her journey from pet owner to exhibitor. Her name is Nina Taylor, who started with a “multi-coloured budgie” (her words), and it was a lovely, pied pet bird. At that stage I did not dare confuse Nina with terms such as dominant or recessive pied, as it is best not to rush with too much information. Instead, experience and time will decide the path and the timescale.
Nina then reintroduced her dad, Paul Chandler to budgies. (Paul had kept an aviary as a young lad.) He built Nina an aviary in her garden since she wanted to have nice coloured birds for her little boy to watch and enjoy.
Nina and Paul asked me round to their garden for a cuppa to see the aviary and asked me which the best clubs are to join. I directed them to TBC to gain more knowledge. They both then joined a local club in East Sussex, as Nina and her dad live in Hove, near Brighton.
They visited a local show and were excited to see so many budgies under one roof and also to see pet-size budgies on show. These are the birds now known as colour budgerigars in the exhibition world. One year later, Nina entered a couple of birds and won a few rosettes and prizes.
Nina is a great example of starting with TBC and using the pathway to become a novice exhibitor. Well done, Nina, and keep up your love of budgies.
You can join TBC via the website: www.budgerigarclub.com and membership is great value at £10 per year. I also offer talks on pet budgies and colour budgerigars for small club meetings. You can contact me at: waynesplacebrighton@gmail.com
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