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 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.

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.

The group debriefed on a range of areas connected to the Nationals, including event flow, communication, logistics, bird room operations, staging, presentations and the broader member experience. These reflections have already started to shape planning for the proposed 2027 event in Canberra, to be held at the Rex Hotel.

By capturing feedback while the event is still fresh in everyone’s minds, the Working Group is aiming to build on the success of the Gold Coast Nationals and ensure that future events continue to evolve in a positive and professional way. The focus remains on delivering a well-organised, welcoming and memorable National Championship that celebrates the very best of the budgerigar fancy across Australia and New Zealand.

Looking Ahead

Today, Nigel Tonkin will be taking 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. If you are free at 9:30 am, be sure to tune in to Tribe FM and support Nigel as he helps put budgerigars in the spotlight.

Expressions of interest are also due today for those eager to participate in the BCSA Live Auction, scheduled for early August. This event is shaping up to be another fantastic opportunity for breeders to showcase quality birds and for members to access strong local bloodlines. Those who have put their name forward will need to provide their final details by June 20th, allowing the organising team enough time to prepare the catalogue and promote the event properly.

This week includes the Elmir Family Crested Auction, the Trent and Kelly Hill (HHH Budgerigars) Albino dispersal sale, the North East Mega Auction for June, the Andrew and Wayne Cusack Auction 2, and Mahir Family Auction #3. Each offers members and breeders the chance to access a wide range of birds, from specialist variety stock through to broader team-building opportunities.

In addition, the St George catalogue has now been released ahead of their live auction, while the Capricornia and Eastern auctions are also adding to what has become a very busy and exciting period for buyers, sellers and clubs alike.

This year’s catalogue features an impressive selection of exhibition budgerigars across many popular varieties, including Normal Green, Normal Grey, Cinnamonwing, Spangle, Opaline, Dominant Pied, Recessive Pied, Greywing, Clearbody, Violet, Lacewing, White Cap, Lutino, Albino and more. The breadth of varieties on offer makes the Eastern Districts Auction 2026 a valuable event for both established breeders and those looking to develop particular lines within their stud.