Pet birds, song birds and birds for sale will feature at this weekend’s annual Ashburton Bird Show.
It will be held in the Tinwald Memorial Hall on Graham St on Saturday and Sunday.
Club president Joel Tipa said the pet bird section was open to birds of any description, in any cage.
Although each bird has to have its own cage, he said.
Pet entries can be dropped off on Saturday morning between 8am and 9am, then collected by 4pm. It was a new section to encourage younger people to get involved.
Another was a primary school colouring-in competition this year exclusively for Tinwald School pupils.
Winning entries will be displayed at the show on Saturday and Sunday in the Tinwald Memorial Hall, Graham St.
In the other 17 sections, North Island judge Dave Ingoe will critique more than 500 birds at the show owned by members of New Zealand Federated Bird Clubs from as far as Nelson and Dunedin.
Assistant show manager Maurie Thin has at least three roller canaries being entered. The birds have a special skill – they perform by singing with their beaks closed.
They can be trained to mimic music; one of two performance pieces used in bird shows.
Maurie, 81, has had his in training for the past six weeks.
He, and his late wife Colleen, got their first birds four years ago after attending the bird show.
Maurie went home and built an aviary – and the rest, as they say, is history.
He now has 45 birds made up of canaries, Gouldian finches and 18 roller canaries.
Tipa said special roller canary judge Tom O’Carroll of Christchurch will be at the show to judge the rollers birdsong.
‘‘They are the only bird judged on just song, everything else is to a standard,’’ Tipa said. It is the 57th show for the club, which has 21 members, most from Mid Canterbury.
Tipa, 30, has won many awards over the years.
He got into birds through a friend when he was living in Christchurch six years ago.
At aged 24 he said he was one of the youngest in the club at the time.
And then one of the youngest at Ashburton when he moved to the district two years ago.
He now has an aviary of 20 budgies, 15 canaries and four love birds; one of which won Best Love Bird last year at Ashburton.
It will be competing again this year.
Tipa also has another 15 he is preparing for show, most of them budgies.
It involves getting them used to the show cages, making sure their tail feathers are pristine, they have clean feet with toenails cut, and identification rings are clean for judges.
Today readied birds will be delivered to the hall for benching. There will also be a large variety of sale birds for purchase, as well as raffles.
– Ashburton Bird Show at the Tinwald Memorial Hall on Saturday and Sunday. Open to the public Saturday 1pm to 4pm, Sunday 9am to 11am. Entry $2.
