As always I first would like to welcome and thank those new supporters who have joined via our website. We value your support and hope you can give us an input to the Society. Also I thank those of you who have come forward to offer a home for incoming birds, we still need many more of you to come forward, be it as a pet/companion or aviary situation. We also need urgently temporary safe homes where birds can be assessed and monitored until new home found. Please can any of you help? We have birds coming in and they need to stay somewhere safe and knowledgeable.

That ‘good time’ of year has arrived– sunshine, fresh air and freedom, literally for some birds! Sadly not the way it should be as I’m thinking of those unfortunate pet/companion birds that escape due to the carelessness and neglect of their owners. I loathe reading about lost birds– I worry for them even though I don’t know them, and this is where I believe that if owners want their birds to be outside with them, then not on a shoulder, nor back of a chair or stand, but in a play aviary. The bird, if frightened, remains safe and secure. What I can never understand is people believing ‘my bird won’t fly away’ because it’s ‘tame’ or ‘it’s clipped’. Well sadly clipped birds can fly and tame birds will fly when scared or frightened. I hope we never have a report of one of our SCA birds sadly going away due to such stupidity. It is very sad as one never learns the outcome of many of these ‘escaped’ birds.

It only seems like yesterday that I was writing my first introduction letter, and here I am again- how time flies.

It is, with regret, that Bob Mann has had to resign his trustee post. We wish him all the best for the future, and thank him for all his active and supportive involvement within the Charity. He will still remain our President.

Our new website has been up and running, this is with enormous thanks to Paul Warburton, whom, over the Christmas and New Year, put in many long hours and lots of hard work to give us a very eye catching, impressive site. For those of you who have not viewed it please find the time to browse and maybe become involved yourself. I would like to welcome those new supporters who have found our site and have joined up. Again. may I say, this is your Society, any ideas or anything you wish us to look at on your behalf please do not hesitate to ask. We are here to help in all aspects of bird keeping, we want to educate tin he welfare of birds to those new to aviculture, and we want to be involved with conservation helping projects that are fighting for those species on the critically endangered list.

My name is Carol Venables. Most of you may recall my name from the re-homing project I undertook with the sanctuary birds. I’ve compiled a separate report about the re-homing which I shared with those at the AGM & which will appear in the next magazine too.

I’m not telling you how many years birds have played a part in my life but as a small child I grew up playing with my Dad’s aviary birds. I watched them rear their young & helped “hand on” when the need arose. My Dad also used to take in injured wild birds too. I watched him mend broken legs & wings using match sticks; he had a natural talent with feathered creatures.