Breeding Season 2024 was a good enough one for me although I bred the fewest number of birds I have ever bred. That had been the purpose but the reality has also been that if your stock is first class, numbers don't matter and this year's crop of young Scots Fancies and Belgian canaries have bred several birds which have been awarded the prize of Best in Show. 

It always feels counter intuitive that the National Exhibition held in Stafford and the most prestigious show of the year in the UK, is also the first show. It took place this year on 6th October 2024. You'd expect the show to be the culmination of the exhibition season whereas it is the opening "number". The event is not to be missed by any serious breeder and exhibitor of birds. It's a long road trip for us and this year, for a change, we had dinner with friends in a lovely little country pub outside Stafford.

I only took 12 birds to exhibit - 7 Scots Fancies and 5 Belgians. They were entered in seven classes and I took first place in five classes. In the Scots classes, my flighted buff cock bird was awarded Best Flighted Scots in Show. Two sister buff hens took first and second places in their class. A cinnamon current year bred bird won her class. The satisfying thing about the National Exhibition is that you are in competition so a win has meaning. 

This year's National Exhibition was, for the Scots Fancy, a return to upward progress in that there were five champion exhibitors and four novices. Those novices are all adults and one may hope that this gives an expectation that the variety really does have a future as the interest in it grows.

Best Scots Fancy and indeed Best Old Variety was won by a piebald exhibited by Steven Fisher.

 

Best Novice, for the second year in a row, was Matt Atkinson with a clear buff.

Against competition in the Belgian classes, I entered two classes and won Best Flighted bird (his father was the World Champion in 2020) and Best Belgian with a self green, current year bred bird from an entirely different line from my usual winning Belgian line. I was delighted. 

It was a great start to the season and a real lesson in choosing fewer birds to transport and exhibit. I only really want to be third place at worst so taking too many birds to exhibit is no longer my plan. It's a good discipline to select fewer and trust your judgement which, for me, is now good.

On 13th October 2024, Scotland's National Bird Club show took place. The Club of which I am secretary and treasurer, the Scots Fancy Specialist Club, ran the Scots Fancy and Old & Rare Variety sections. I again limited my entry to 10 Scots fancies and 5 Belgians. 

I entered six Scots classes and won five of them. My birds won Best Champion Yellow, Best Champion Flighted (adult) Clear, Best Champion Cinnamon, Best Champion, Best in Show and 3rd Best in Show. 

In the Old & Rare classes, I entered 2 classes for Belgian canaries and won both, taking the awards of Best Belgian and Best Old Variety. I was most gratified by these wins on home turf given that again, the shows were competitive with over 100 birds competing for the top award. 

The presentation of the awards sponsored by Stevie Evans is the next photo. 

We had been fortunate to secure sponsorship of the awards for Best in Show, 2nd and 3rd Best from Club member Sandy Devidge, The photo below is that of the awards; they are prints of a Victorian prize card with the Club's name and award category.

Probably my favourite show of the year in the Old Variety Canary Association North show. It is held in conjunction with the North of England Gloster Club show at Stakeford in Northumberland and I have been very fortunate there. The show is my favourite because I really enjoy the people there who have become firm friends, it is a night away in a lovely hotel and I get to meet my cousin and his wife for dinner. All in all, it's a fun weekend away.

Repeating the pattern of the year, I exhibited 10 Scots and five Belgians, in 5 and 2 classes respectively and won all seven classes. In the Scots Fancy classes there was competition but one of my two sister buffs did the job and won Best Champion Old & Rare Variety, Best Old Variety, Best Scots Fancy, Best Champion Scots Fancy. My belgian won the award for Best Belgian and 2nd Best Old Variety - again he had competition from three other exhibitors. I was also awarded the John Scott President's Award which is a competition between the winning Lizard canary and the winning Old Variety. I was, naturally, delighted. 

The Club Show of the Scots Fancy Specialist Club takes place on 17 November 2024 and will close my show season. It's been busy but very rewarding so far.  

   

 

 The final show of season 2023, was The Scots Fancy Specialist Club show held this year in conjunction with the Scottish Lizard Canary Association. Neither club has a large membership so combining our efforts made a great deal of sense. Keith Johnson, the secretary of the SLCA, is fortunate in having a family who came and cooked a meal for the exhibitors, judges and exhibitors. It was a good day. 

Last year at this show, I won the awards for Best, 2nd and 3rd Best in Show but this year those awards went to my friend Gordon Alexander. His daughter Lauren Wight won Best Novice. My birds took the awards for Best Current year Bred White, Best Current Year Bred Yellow and Best Champion Flighted.

Gordon with his Best in Show bird

Lauren with her Best Novice

My Best Champion Flighted 

My Best CYB Yellow

The show cages are cleaned and stored away for another year. It's been fun but I enjoy the winter rest season too.  

 12 November 2023 was the date of the Old Variety Canary Association northern show held at the North of England Gloster Club show at Bomersund, Northumberland. 

Last year, my Scots Fancy was awarded Best Old Variety and my Belgian was awarded Second Best Old Variety. This year the result was reversed with my Belgian taking the award of Best Old Variety and my Scots Fancy being awarded Second Best Old Variety. 

I've always loved this show because the team are all now friends of mine and the venue is near my relatives with whom I can then spend time. 

All in all, it was a great weekend. 

 22 October 2023 was the date of Grangemouth CBS show. The winner of Best Scots was Gordon Alexander but one of my birds was in the last three for consideration of that honour so I was pleased with my 3 class wins from 5 classes entered, taking second place in the classes in which I didn't win first place.

My Belgian canary, ring No 32/22 won Best Flighted Any Other Variety and his half brother won Best Unflighted Any Other Variety, all against competition. I was pleased to win 5 out of 7 classes I entered.  I only entered 9 birds and all were first or second. 

 More than a decade ago, the Scottish National Cage Bird Society folded. It had held an annual show on 1st and 2nd January for many years - well over 100 - but lack of support killed it and many of us thought they'd never see it reinstituted. 

Then last year a small group of fanciers got together and did the work which led to the creation of Scotland's National Bird Club which hosted the first National Exhibition in Scotland for more than a decade. I was pleased to be a small part of that group. 

At the show, Gordon Alexander won Best Scots Fancy and I took the awards for Second and Third Best Scots Fancy as well as Best Old Variety with a Belgian flighted cock bird, the son of my world champion bird. 

The whole event was a great success and it is planned to happen again next year. If I can leave the hobby any legacy, it'll be my tiny part in this new venture.

Gordon Alexander with his winner of Best Scots Fancy at Scotland's National Bird Show

My Second and Third Best Scots Fancies at Scotland's National Bird Show

The top three Scots Fancies at Scotland's National Bird Show

My winning Belgian Bossu canary which won Best Old variety at Scotland's National Bird Show

The trophy for Best Old Variety

 After a successful breeding season, it's show season again! The years go by faster and faster. 

On the weekend of 30 September and 1 October, the National Exhibition at Stafford was held. I was lucky to win Best Scots Fancy in Show, along with Best Champion and Best Current Year Bred Bird. In the Old Variety section I also won Best Belgian. 

The Best Scots title I have now won six times and the Best Belgian title twice. 

This coming weekend sees the return of a long lost show, Scotland's National Bird Show. We hope the event is a great success. I'll add more after the event.

The photo above is me with my Best Scots winner - ring number 69/23.

The photo above is my Best Belgian - ring number 32/22 - son of the World Champion.

The rosette for 69/23 as Best Current Year Bred Bird.

Russell Sykes who won Best Novice Belgian with birds from my stock.

Matthew Atkinson who won Best Novice Scots.

Show season 2022 ended for me at the Old Variety Canary Association's northern show hosted by North of England Gloster Club at Bomersund, Northumberland on Sunday 13 November 2022. This year there were 165 old and rare varieties exhibited so while winning the individual prizes of Best Scots and Best Belgian was great, the winning of Best and Second Best Old Variety was more impressive for me. I was also delighted that my Scots Fancy won the prestigious John Scott President's Award rosette for best bird in a direct competition with the Lizard canaries present. 

Each of my winning Scots this year has been a different bird. While this shows a great consistency across the bloodline, it also demonstrates how fortunate Gordon Alexander has been in twice winning the Name the Bird competition which is awarded to the bird which wins Best in Show at three shows in one season.

The Belgian in particular has had a great season. He is the son of my World Champion bird. Last year he was second best old variety at this show and he won Best Belgian against competition at each of the four shows we have attended in 2022 and was in the running for best white canary at the National Exhibition in Stafford. Although he didn't win that title, it was quite incredible for me that he made he short-list.

This show is a very friendly one and I stewarded to the judge, Kevin McCallum, OMJ this year as he was helping to train me for judging a show I had been invited to judge in Northern Ireland the following weekend. 

The NI show was the inaugural show of the Ulster Old & Rare Canary Club and it was a real honour to be invited to judge that event. Best in Show went to a great Raza canary exhibited by Peter Sherlock and Best Scots was exhibited by David Ramsey. Best Junior Scots was awarded to Emma-Lee Ramsey. It was a small show but there are now firm steps on which to build.