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Note: This article was originally written for the Budgerigar Journal. I have updated some of the contents (on 2/17/06) to bring it more up to date

The Beginning:

How do I start? Well I should go back to 1975 when I first joined this wonderful hobby. I can remember it very well, despite the fact that my wife Rose claims my memory is not what it used to be. I was breeding the American pet parakeet, at the time, when I came upon these super big budgies in a neighborhood pet store. I inquired all over, but could not find out their origin. It was one hell of a mystery. I did know about the exhibition budgie, but had no idea how to acquire any, or who was breeding them. Finally, through the Long Island Canary Club, I found out about the New York State Budgerigar Society. I was given the phone number of a fellow named Jim Brown, who lived in Wantagh, Long Island. Jim informed me when the next meeting was to be held and where.

Even though there was 15 inches of snow on the ground, the day of the meeting, there was no way I was going to miss it. To my dismay, Jim Brown and myself, were the only ones to attempt the journey. As faith has it, this turned out to be a good thing. Jim and I sat and talked for some time. I learned that Jim was a Champion Breeder and a Judge with ABS. He assured me that most of the members made the monthly meetings, even if snow was on the ground, but that this was an exception. I had a great time that day and for the short time I had the priviledge of knowing Jim, I feel that I learned a wealth of information that I still apply today. Unfortunately for the hobby Jim passed away in 1976.

The following month there was no snow on the ground and the meeting was packed, Back then there was at least forty members in the club and most showed up to enjoy the meetings and friendship. The clubs all had there share of Novices, Intermediates, and Champions. The meetings were very informative and everyone enjoyed them. Meetings normally lasted three to four hours. Some meetings were set up strictly to discuss genetics, some were question and answer sessions, while others were for judging birds that were brought to the meetings. The beginners were very involved in all events as it was the best way to learn. Agendas for the meetings were always set up well in advance.

I will never forget when three of the novices were asked to judge approximately 10 budgies that were brought to the meeting. Yours truly was one of the judges. Well you can imagine the bewildered threesome arguing about which budgie had the best color and what not. After all was said and done I could not believe the patience that Jim Brown and Tony Mancini had when they discussed what the threesome did right and wrong. I learned an awful lot from those meetings. It was great as everyone shared experiences and knowledge. I was invited to many aviaries, which was fantastic, as this is where you picked up a lot of ideas as to how to set up your own aviary.

Acquiring Breeding Stock:

I only went to a hand full of breeders, at the time, to acquire my first pairs of breeding stock. Jim Brown gave me quite a bit of guidance on how I should go about acquiring my stock. Jim told me to first look at the show results and see who was winning. He also stated that these individuals should be winning with younger birds. If an individual was only winning with older birds then I should avoid going there. I was told to go back in the bulletins to research the consistant winners. Jim also stated to only go to three individuals, at the most, who have established lines. It did not take me long to to decide the individuals I wanted birds from. They were, in alphabetical order, Jim Brown, Don Langell, and the Trethaways (Harold and Gordon). I was also very lucky in choosing these individuals as all had Alf Omerode blood lines in the background of their birds. Jim Browns birds were based, almost entirely, from the Omerode lines. Alf Omerode was one of the premier breeders in the UK at the time. The birds from these gentlemen helped me quite a bit and to this day my birds still go back to the Omerode birds I acqired from them. Of course I do go out occassionally to keep the line strong, but my lines still can be traced back to the Omerode stock.

Since one day I would have to compete against the top breeders around, what better way to prepare than to build my lines by purchasing birds from them. It would be great if these gentlemen were still in the hobby today as they made it fun and motivated me to breed better birds.

My latest outcross was with some birds I brought in from the UK. I acquired them from Chris Snell. These birds had good size with good width of shoulders with good spots and mask. These birds clicked very nicely with my own. The Snell birds were a very good outcross that helped with mask and spots on my birds. It also helped me realize better size in the birds as well.

The Shows:

The competition at the shows was fierce, to say the least, and everyone enjoyed it. The smallest shows were a little over 300 birds, and the Novice division was always the largest, with about 40% of the entries. Some of the people I had to show against in Novice were Al & Dennis Lalavee, Joe Sabella, John Petrillo, and many others. All legs up, at that time, were very hard to earn. You had to beat out over a hundred birds in order to get a leg up. Getting the top award in Intermediate and Novice was a real accomplishment. Getting to Champion was even harder. In order to get to Champion three different birds had to be placed in the top six in show. One of which had to be 3rd or better. The smallest show for one of my wins, to get to Champion status, had a total of 475 birds. This was at Rhode Island and it was my final leg. I firmly believe that the competition and the feeling that one had from gaining Champion status kept people in the hobby. Yes it was a challenge but it was an accomplishment that you never forget. Another factor was the wonderful people, who always congratulated each other for winning, and respected one another. There was never a time when I did not enjoy myself at the shows back then. Everyone had a great time.

There was also the banquets after the shows. Eat, drink, and be merry was the theme. Some of the banquets also had bands with live music and dancing. These festivities drew 50 to 100 people. This was the time to meet others and find out what else they did beside breeding and exhibiting budgies. This is how Rose and I met some of our best friends. The show circuit also enabled us to see birds from all over the country.

Judging and Attending Shows:

I became a judge in 1990. Even though I thoroughly enjoy judging the birds, this was not the best part of taking on an assignment. As everyone knows, by now, Rose is the brains of the outfit and she goes to all of the shows with me. People like Rose so much that they have to take me as part of the package. Isn't that great. Some people just refer to me as Rose's husband. Seriously, I have met some fantastic people, that I would never have met, if it wasn't for this hobby and being a judge. We meet a lot of people from our area, and meet a lot more by attending the Grand National or All American. Since I am an active judge for BAA, and on the Board, I have had the privilege of meeting many wonderful folks.

Not only has the hobby enabled me to meet people from all over the USA, but it has also enabled me to meet people from other countries such as England, Canada, Germany, Scotland, Wales, Brazil, Switzerland, and many others. This is a great hobby and it is a mystery that we do not have more members in the USA.

Some of the clubs hire foreign judges. One such club is the Budgerigar Research Association (BRA). This club has done this for many years. It is very enjoyable attending this show. It is in California (Rose and I are now reside in Florida). I try and attend the California shows whenever possible. Fred DiBernardo is to be commended not only for a wonderful show, but for fantastic hospitality. Fred's father used to do a lot of the cooking. The pizza was great, and was even better when having some of Pop's (Freds Father) wine with it. Rose and I both gained a couple of pounds. I can really use it, but Rose decided to go with the Slim Fast when we got home. I strongly recommend that you try to attend this show as you will have a great time. For as long as I have known Fred, he has been a strong supporter of the hobby and has gone out of his way to make improvements. Fred was instumental in solving the problems surrounding Band Laws in California. Fred has many good ideas for the hobby.

Another show in California that is becoming very popular is the Orange County Show which is staged by Lou Smaldino and Tina Garrish. This is another show that has great hospitality. Lou and Tina put on quite a spread to welcome their guests who attend the show. Rose and I really enjoy this show and it is another one where good friends make the difference. It is a shame that California is on the West Coast and we are on the East as the visits are way too short. Lou and Tina attend our show here in Florida. We have had two shows with year three coming up and we hope that our show will be as popular as the two shows mentioned above.

Membership Is Down:

As you can see, by my previous words, the hobby had quite a few more members in it when I first started in the birds. The shows were also very well attended with both exhibitors and a large entry of birds. What has happenned to the hobby over the last couple of decades? Well, no one really knows. There are a lot of assumptions and guesses, but I do not think that there is just one reason for the decline.

One of the things that was done to try and keep poeple in the hobby was to make it easier for an individual to move up from one division to the next. It was felt that people were leaving because the competition was too hard and they could not move up. I feel that this did more harm than good. We may have lost one or two individuals who for some reason could not compete, but overall I feel that people like competition. They thrive on it. It motivates them. What is the old saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"? Friendly competition never hurt anyone. Instead by making it easier, people moved up to champion status and were not ready. They could not place a bird on the top bench because their birds did not have the quality to be placed there. So they left the hobby. This discouraged a lot of people who would rather drop out than be embarrased because they could not compete. I am not saying that this is the reason for the decline. As I said, there are probably many. It takes a large committment to breed these beautiful birds. A lot of people do not want to give up the time, a lot of people would rather surf the web, people have many other interests, too much politics in the hobby, and the reasons can go on and on. Fun needs to come back to the hobby.

Right in the middle of the decline, a new organization was formed (Budgerigar Association of America). The organization is now over five years old. A lot of people are still questioning the logic behind this. Some people feel that we do not have enough people in the hobby right now to support one organization let alone two. This may or may not be the case. Remember what I said about competition? It never hurt anyone. The same goes on in big business. Without the competitors, there would be a monopoly and that would not help anyone. I am one of the people who helped form the BAA. Personnally I felt it was time for a change. Some medicine is hard to swallow, but I believe that this is just what the hobby needs. People will now step up and bring solutions to the table. Organizations will compete for the members. There are now choices. Solutions to the decline will be brought to the table, and who knows, maybe we will start to see membership go way up. There has been an increase since BAA was organized. I am talking overall membership. The hobby needs to become healthy again, and as stated the more fun people have in the hobby and the shows, the more they will spread the word.

Does anyone have any ideas they would like to recommend or share? Send them to your organization. Better yet send them to both organizations. Speak up! You may have a great idea or solution to a problem.

Still a Great Hobby:

This is a great hobby and I enjoy it very much. Over the years I have met some great people in this country and out of it. A lot of these people are still our friends today. Some no longer belong to the hobby, but I am still close to them. I guess I have a lot to thank the budgie for. If I did not love this hobby I would not be in it for the last 32 years. I can only hope that I will be around enjoying it for another 32 years.

I would like to give some advice to people new to the hobby. Learn as much as you can. Without knowledge of the budgie the hobby will lose you. Read books on Genetics, visit aviaries, go to shows, learn about the visual qualities of what makes a good show bird, make friends, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Go up to the champions and people that have been around for awhile and ask them for advice. They are only to happy to share their knowlegde. I am still learning, and I am still enjoying this wonderful and colorful budgie.