| 
| International Ornithological Association
(COM-GB)
Affiliated to the Confederation Ornithologique Mondiale | 
|
European Parliament Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Follow the link provided to read the European Directive 2009/147/EC on the Conservation of Wild Birds
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:020:0007:0025:EN:PDF
The IOA are pleased to announce that we have accepted invitations to the following shows in 2010 .
FRANCE : The International Festival , Deville Les Rouen.
Once again presented by L'Amicale Ornithologique De Normandie in partnership with the Club Technique De Canaris De Couleurs , the Iternational Festival caters for Colour and Posture Canaries , Exotics and Parrotts (please note no classes for European Fauna ) and is held in Rouen , Normandy . A two hour drive from the ferry port of Calais , the historic city of Rouen has much to offer and the Festival is an ideal event to participate in or simply vist . The famous hospitatlity of the 'Freindly Bird Club of Normandy ' is once again extended to all IOA & Affilaite members . Paul Brockman will act as co-ordinator and conveyor to this show and you should cntact him on 01293 458360 or by email for details , (entry form , schedule , costs , accomodation etc. ) The show runs from the 19th to the 24th October 2010 and is open to the public on Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th .
BELGIUM : The Golden Ring Show , Roeselare
The Golden Ring is an ideal show for all IOA & Affiliate members to take part in or to visit , Roeslare is an hour & a half drive from the ferry port of Calais and the show has a full classification for all birds and is a firm favourite on the European exhibition calander with the 2010 show being the eighteenth .With extensive sales classes and trade stands it comes highly recomended with a warm welcome gaurenteed. Richard Lumley will act as co-ordinator and conveyor to this show and you should cntact him on 01653 697565 or by email for details , (entry form , schedule , costs , accomodation etc. ) The show runs from the 30th November to the 5th December 2010 and is open to the public on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th .
Call back for more information as more shows are added to our calander .
13/12/09 The Golden Ring & Gold Medals in Italy.
With another show added to our ever growing list , Richard Lumley acted as conveyor for the Golden Ring Show in Belgium . No medals were forthcoming on this occassion but Richard , Paul Brockman & Cliff Griffen all had birds scoring a respectable 90 points. We recomend this show to all IOA members as the hospitality was second to non and it is a wonderfull event attracting 4,000 to 5,000 birds of all descriptions. Held in Roeslare , Belgium , it is an hour or so's drive from the ferry port of Calais and is the ideal event to compete in or simply visit . Richard has already agreed to convey Team GB next year so put the 4th and 5th of December 2010 in your diary .
Further afield two OMJ GB , Simon Tammam & Ken Grigg , had Judging engagements at the International Show in Bari , Italy , where Simon reports , IOA member and sole British Exhibitor , Sarah Roberts, took a Gold Medal with a Stam of Agate recessive white canaries and Gold with a Black onyx red mosaic canary.
This caps a wonderful year for the IOA in Europe and we have brought 16 Gold , 12 Silver & 5 Bronze Medals back to these shores .
28/11/09 Affiliation continues to grow.
The IOA are delighted to announce that 4 new societies have decided to affiliate to the COM through the IOA.
Two of the oldest varieties of exhibition canary known to man , namely the Lizard & Crested canary , have seen their governing bodies affiliate the societies rings to the Confederation Ornithologique Mondiale via the IOA.
Along with the Lizard Canary Association of Great Britain & the Crested Canary Club , the Waxbill Finch Society and the North Derbyshire Foreign, British Bird & Mule Club have also affiliated giving their members the opportunity to exhibit at prestigious exhibitions such as the World Show . IOA President , Paul Brockman , welcomed the newly affiliated societies saying " I'm delighted that more and more UK clubs and associations are recognising that the IOA have a 50 year history of competeing our birds with our Continental neighbours and have decided to become part of the growing IOA family . As the UK National Entity to the COM we now recognise the ID Colour Coded rings of the BBC , CCBA , LCA , CCC, WFS and along with the numerous British Bird , Canary & Foriegn bird breeders that use IOA rings we are well on our way to achieving an all encompassing 'Federation' as envisaged by my predecessor , the late Ron Evans".
30/10/09
The International Festival of Colours , Cantelue , Normandy , France
The IOA COM GB entered a team of 42 canaries into this event which is rapidly becoming a 'must not miss' event on the European exhibition circuit . With nearly 3,000 birds on view the International Festival of Colours is more than just an exhibition , it is an event that involves the whole community . One unique part is the parties of local school children who are shown around on the Friday afternoon with members of the AON each taking a small group and introducing them to the different types of birds , also on the Friday afternoon local senior citizens are honoured and the event was opened by the deputy Mayor of Cantelue .
Top Italian Colour Canary Champion , Roberto Scuratti had several hundred Mosaic canaries for sale and exotics were on offer from De Gouldamandine of Belgium , Orinphama , Versa Laga and Varma of Belgium completed the trade stands .
On the Saturday and Sunday several thousand visitors passed through the doors to marvel at the excellent birds on view.
The IOA COM team GB had some outstanding results :
Les Summers won 5 Gold , 4 Silver and a Bronze medal with his Irish Fancy .
Brian Hogg 2 Golds with a Lancashire Coppy and a Lancashire Plain Head , and a Silver Medal with a CrestBred.
Neville Guant became the first ever UK Colour Canary breeder to take a medal in a show held under the auspices of the COM winning a Gold and a Silver .
Paul Brockman won a Gold & 2 Silver Medals with his Japanese Hoso and a Bronze with a Scotch Fancy .
The 'star' of Team GB and the 'star; of the show was Saviour Camalleri whose team of 4 Norwich took 3 Gold & 1 Silver medals with his Buff Cock being adjudged the 'Best Posture Canary in Show ' .
14/07/09
Contact has been made with the organisers of the Golden Ring Show who look forward to the participation of the IOA COM GB members , details will be released in September . Ever mindfull of the welfare of our birds the IOA comittee are currently negotiating for new travel boxes to be manufactured , having seen a sample of the proposed boxes the committee where extremely impressed with the quality offered. Although this will represent a considerable investment on behalf of the membership , peace of mind whilst the birds are away at shows is priceless.
A new page has been added to the website that charts the history of the COM and the IOA , it makes for interesting reading and reinforces Great Britains commitment to International Bird Associations since 1925.
26/06/09
The L'amicle Ornithologique De Normandie ( The Friendly Bird Club of Normandy ) have joined with the CTC ( Club Technique De Canaris De Couleurs , the equivalent of the UK's CCBA ) to present the only show to be held under the auspices of the C.O.M. in France during 2009. IOA members and affiliate members are invited to exhibit at this event and show schedules and entry forms are now available if you want to participate . For more information visit this page on the website http://www.ioa-com-gb.co.uk/aonctc.html . IOA President , Paul Brockman , will be Conveying birds to this show .
09/05/09
2009 Annual General Meeting
One of the best attended AGM's for many a year began by observing a minutes silence for our recently departed President , Ron Evans 
, who many credit as being the best President the IOA has had in living history . Many ways of remembering Ron's contribution were disscussed and it was not until the Affiliation of Sandwell Avicutural Society to the IOA was ratified that a solution was hit upon. Sandwell Avicutural Society was a club dear to Ron's heart and it was agreed that the IOA would approach thier Committee with the suggestion that we present a perpetual trophy to them in Ron Evans name so that his memory may live on in an area where he was so well known.
Newly elected President , Paul Brockman , recognised and thanked many of the newly affiliated Societies who have driven up the membership of the IOA and expressed his hope that with increased membership the IOA would continue to send more birds to be exhibited at shows on the Continent as well as supporting more traditional shows here in the UK. With a new Committee in place many fresh and exciting ideas where explored and the IOA Conveyors will be taking birds not only to the World Show in Portugal but also to the Golden Ring in Belgium and the International Festival of Colour in France, giving those IOA members who can not make the World Show the opportunity to experience exhibiting on the Continent.
With more British Bird breeders being elected to the Committee it is hoped that a technical working party will be formed to formulate show standards for some of the newer mutations that in turn can be presented to the COM for adoption , cementing the United Kingdom and the IOA once again at the forefront of avicutural policy making.
The Greatest Show on Earth.
You'd be forgiven for reading the headline and expecting to see an article on the 1952 film of that name , directed by Cecil B. DeMille , starring Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde & Charlton Heston and telling the tale of Circus life. The Show in question is not held in a Big Top in Mid-West America , but in the Quartiere Fieristico di Piacenza (Exhibition Center of Piacenza) and is of course the 57th World Ornithology Championships or The World Show .
The Northern Italian Town of Piacenza, capitol of the province of Piacenza , saw its population of 104, 000 grow by many thousands as exhibitors from across Europe decended on the small town , in the heart of the mountainous region of Italy , as it played host to the biggest gathering of bird men & women in mainland Europe.
3215 exhibitors from 20 Nations entered 27,964 birds , a record in World Show history , so great was the entry that the FOI ,(Federazione Ornicoltori Italiani ) had to draft in 106 OMJ Judges to complete the judging in the alloted 3 days . Canaries accounted for 19, 585 , 12.672 of these being Colour Canaries , 5,819 Posture Canaries ( on the Continent our traditional type canaries , Border , Fife Gloster etc fall into this group) & 1,094 of the singing varieties.
Not only was this years show a record for the amount of birds it was also a record for Great Britains medal haul of 2 Gold , 3 Silver & 3 Bronze. 26 British IOA members , which included 3 of our close friends from Gibraltar , who show along side us , entered a total of 168 birds . Cliff Griffin secured Silver with his Irish Fancy and it was also the Irish Fancy that took a Bronze medal for Les Summers . Frank Carter was awarded a Silver for his Opal Java Sparrow and newcomer to the World Show Scene , Stephen Williams , now has a Bronze Medal to show for his Crossbill / Bullfinch hybrid . With out doubt the 'Star' of the British entrant was Bernard Howlett with 2 Golds a Silver & a Bronze , the Golds coming via an Albino Song Thrush and a Cinnamon Song Thrush .
Away from the competative side of the show , IOA Members Brian Hogg & Kevin McCullam successfully completed their OMJ entrants exam and now join the ranks of World Judges . A full acount of the UK entry will appear at a later date along with photographs from the show both in the C&A and on the IOA website www. ioa-com-gb.co.uk.
