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.

In those early days the birds were small species; today & over the last 20 years my special interest has been the larger parrots. I am totally dedicated to all birds; small, medium, large; pet or aviary & the wild birds. I have always been interested in their natural behaviour & have visited many bird parks, collections, zoos & rescue centres to watch them. I became involved in the SCA when I was looking for a suitable future for my birds when I eventually pass on. I have high standards & some of the sanctuaries I visited were certainly below my par.

Then I had the opportunity to visit the SCA sanctuary. I’d been a member for several years but never had time to visit. Andy made me welcome & what I saw was fantastic. Every bird responded to Andy, they had bowls of fresh fruit & veggies just as mine do at home. The cleanliness was so apparent & the indoor & outside aviary facility for the birds was the best I’ve ever seen. Best of all were all the toys in the aviaries. So many aviary birds have nothing to play with but here were natural branches, swings, ropes & toys; true luxury. I knew my birds would adapt here from being pet birds to those out in an aviary. There was everything they already had & Andy was clearly dedicated & hard working.

So I took it onboard to promote the SCA through the boarding & bird care advice I give. My boarding facilities give me the opportunity to have many varieties of birds in my home. The most interesting was a Red Billed Toucan who stayed for 6 months & melted my heart.

I have met many problem birds in homes I have visited to advice on behaviour or care & I’ve been appalled at the conditions the birds are kept in. At all times I have had the birds’ welfare at heart. I hope to continue this & move forward with the SCA as my boarding commitments reduce due to health difficulties.

The last 7 months had been stressful with the re-homing project; long days, lots of travelling up the M25 from home to the sanctuary but I have had lots of support from friends to get me through this. I hope it will help me to do the right thing as your Chairperson.

We already have several things in common, we support the charity, we have an interest in birds & I hope we have the same vision for the future. With your support & help we can make the SCA a charity truly recognised for its aims:

· The welfare of all birds; pet or aviary

· To help those endangered avian species

· To educate people in the needs of captive birds; so important when one sees the meagre quality of life some birds are made to suffer

Your support is appreciated but can I ask each of you to consider how you could come forward with more help? No matter how small…can you promote us, fund raise, are you involved in a bird club? Can you give some time to becoming an ACO (Area Co-Coordinator)? Could you be a safe home & care for a bird waiting to be re-homed? Do you have space for a holding aviary? Now our sanctuary has closed we are desperate for homes to take birds in. The idea of not one but several safe facilities around the country means we do not have to move birds around too far which is much less stressful for them. I believe we once had the best sanctuary facilities but we did not appreciate that or the work Andy did to maintain them. Now we have to move on & I hope we can set new standards & still give the birds our best in different circumstances.

Our web site needs pictures & stories about your birds. I would like you to tell me what you would like your charity to do or which direction you would like it to go in. I’d appreciate any ideas or feedback from you. I am the voice for the birds but I am also here to listen to you too. I enjoyed meeting those of you who came to the AGM. I hope to meet more of you at next year’s event.

Thank you to those of you who came forward & fostered birds.

May I please remind you that the bird does belong to the charity; cannot be sold on & sadly if the bird dies will you please inform us? Some carers have not always done this in the past but it is important as we do keep records of every bird that comes into our care. If you wish to contact me, please write to me or via the secretary at our P O Box address.

Thank you for caring about our feathered friends. Our motto is “Caring Hands, Preserving Wings”. With bird welfare & conservation foremost, I hope we can do achieve even more.

Yours truly

Carol Venables