3rd Quarter, 2000 - NFSS Board Meeting

The following are the results of the 3rd Quarter Board Meeting.

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Motion. A list of birds that may be sensitive or not tolerate disturbing their nest, attempting to close banding may result in parents abandoning the nest, be posted in the bulletin and/ or be included with every band order. Ask membership to actively provide input based on experience.

Tabled until 4th Quarter 2000

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Motion. In accordance with NFSS bylaws, to appoint Darla Dandre to the position of Region 3 Vice President for a period not to exceed 180 days. She is a current nominee for the position in the special election.

Passed. 10 yes; 4 did not vote

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Motion. I would like to ask the board approval to set up a NFSS members mail list. This list would be housed on e-groups and would be open to NFSS members only. John Wilson has agreed to administrate the list so the only burden that would fall to the board would be to send him periodic copies of the membership list so he could screen applicants to the list.

I would also ask that a link be placed on the website to advertise the list and allow members to easily join. I would also ask that a periodic announcement be placed in the bulletin to advertise the list. John Wilson would be willing to write up the ad copy if Steve would like.

Cost to NFSS would be $0.00 and it would provide another benefit of membership. I have already sent out feelers to a couple of active NFSS members (including Robert Black) and they have committed to respond to questions posted on the list so that we can develop a high quality Mail list.

So, can we do this? Give me the go ahead and I will contact the individuals involved. Thanks for your consideration.

Passed. 9 yes; 1 no; 4 did not vote

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Motion. I would like to see the Education Department incorporate the watchdog position of monitoring proposed and future legislation by government authorities that have an impact on aviculture. An update when there is information can be incorporated into the NFSS Bulletin.

Should NFSS take an active role in monitoring government activities that affect our hobby and inform our membership via the Bulletin and website?

Passed. 9 yes; 1 no; 4 did not vote

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Board reports:

Budget submitted by Bobbi through 30 August 2000

NFSS January - August 30, 2000 Budget for year
INCOME:	For Year	Budget
MEMBERSHIPS	$8,665.00	$11,000
AFFILIATIONS & AWARDS	$2,646.00	$4,100
LEG BAND SALES	$4,310.91	$6,800
FINCHSHOP INCOME	$271.40 *	$800
ADVERTISING INCOME	$327.00	$1,500
JUDGES FEES	$270.00	$260
RAFFLE INCOME	$757.00	---
INTEREST ON SAVINGS	$35.55	$200
OTHER INCOME	$5.00	---
TOTAL INCOME	$17,287.86	$24,660

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Report from Clarence, Region 4 - The Regional Show will be held in League City, Texas on October 28 for Region 4. Clarence

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Awards Manager...Ginny Allen - As of September 3, 2000 there have been awards ordered and sent for 33 NFSS affiliated clubs having shows this year including the Great American Bird Show. The awards for the National Cage Bird Show have been ordered.

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Band Secretary, Carol Heesen - To date, we have filled 361 band orders for 2000. We have ordered and received the bands for 2001. As always, orders for the 2001 bands will not be shipped until the last week in December. We have already received a couple 2001 band orders and are holding these until the appropriate shipping date.

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NFSS Office of the Fourth Vice President, Steve Hoppin 3rd Quarter, 2000 Report -

Apprentice Judge Program:

Annette Howard has passed the apprentice exam and has three apprenticeships approved and scheduled during the Fall 2000 show season.

NFSS is pleased to announce Mrs. Jerri Wiesenfeld of Jacksonville, Florida as a recent addition to the program. Jerri is a long time member of NFSS (# 626) , has years of experience breeding and exhibiting various finches, and has earned the NFSS Exhibitor of Excellence Award. Welcome aboard Jerri!

Respectfully submitted, Steve Hoppin

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1st VP Department 3rd Quarter Report

I have decided to cancel Raffle #2 for the time being due to little participation of donated raffle items. I was able to secure the donation of one pair of birds but was unable to secure anything else. My thanks to Michael Marcotrigiano for his thoughtful donation. We may be calling upon him in the future.

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AFA REPORT from AFA Representattive, Vince Huntington

The AFA was fun and informative. The NFSS members we saw attending were, Laura Tinker (the East Coast), Terasla Haire, Rosemary Flamion, Clara Gontero, Carol Hessen, Scott Golden, John Wilson, Ella Galick, Mariana (blanking her last name) ,,,,,,, and new member, Robert Black. (We may have missed a couple of people.)

Friday evening (8-4) we had a NFSS meeting coordinated by Vince Huntington. The issues discussed were 1) birds participating in 'finch save' not be required to be closed banded, 2) provide a list of birds that do not tolerate nest checks and close banding, 3) issues over the postal services regulations not allowing birds shipped express mail. It was suggested NFSS work with 'Horizon' shippers to help change law for 'finches'? 4) it was also suggested the bulletin list the entire 'top ten' show results, regardless of whether they received points. ( Everyone loves to see their name in print!) 5) The remainder of the evening was spent discussing why people raise birds, why they join organizations such as NFSS and how NFSS can meet everyone's needs! This discussion was part of Vince's paper - "12 reasons why people raise birds"

John Wilson's presentation was well attended and very well received. Robert Black's presentation was excellent. Vince (pre arranged) presented NFSS's "Lifetime Achievement and Membership Award" to Robert Black, it was followed by a standing ovation for Robert. Vince's and my presentation was also well received, it gave people a chance to see the different personalities the birds have. (see separate article submitted for bulletin)

Saturday at 4pm the winner was drawn for the pair of 'parrotbill finches'. Rosemary Flannigan (an NFSS member from california) won the birds. We sold a total of $238 tickets, less $100 for the birds gave NFSS a return of $138 ( mailed to Bobbie). Unfortunately the only bulletins we had to give out were the ones I have been saving up. I did not receive any of the (200 requested) current bulletins? Nor did I get my issue for this month? I informed Steve Poe by e mail, after the event.

I do believe we (all who attended) did a great PR service for NFSS. I can't tell you how many times we had to inform people NFSS is not (just) about 'bird shows'! We sat in on a proposed "Softbill Club" meeting. When asked why they were not part of NFSS, a member stated "NFSS is not interested in breeding birds and different species, they just are about 'bird shows'!" Later in the evening we chatted with various people, including Roland Cristo, about NFSS's very wide range of interests, particularly 'finch save' and the philosophy behind it, emphasizing bird shows are only a small portion of NFSS. 

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From the President:  Now that the AFA convention for 2000 is over we need to look forward to the AFA Convention in 2001. AFA has sent us a letter to inquire if NFSS would like be involved with the AFA Convention 2001 in Houston. Our choices are: 1. Our group will not be able to participate 2. Our group will not be able to participate but would like to have our liturature displayed. 3. 0ur group would like to sponsor a speaker and submit the following person for consideration..... A. since we are sponsoring a speaker we would like a complimentary booth at the convention .... B. we would like to reserve a room for specialty meeting one evening during the convention. We need to decide what we want to do and if we sponsor somebody, whom?

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From The President. We have been approached by a member to "sponsor" him for a captive breeding program for the Cut Throat Finches. This would entail writing a letter of recommendation on the member's behalf and having a representative from the Society visit and inspect the breeding facility once a year. NFSS does not accept or assume any responsibility for the program. It is just a monitoring role for sponsoring them with the USFW under CITES. We would be the 1st National organization to sponsor a Finch Captive Breeding Program. AFA is currently sponsoring a Hookbill program. Since the a Captive Breeding Program would fall more in line with the Finchsave program I have asked the member to submit an official request to the Finchsave Director along with all the details. The Director reviews the request, clarifies any points requiring it, Comments on the letter along with a recommendation and sends it to the President for presentation to the Board for vote. If approved by the Board the President along with the Correspondence Secretary will prepare a letter of Sponsorship and forward to the member for inclusion with his application. As this develops over the next few weeks I will keep you informed of the process. The member has committed to writing a series of articles documenting their progress and hopefully approval by the USFW department. Under no circumstances will NFSS provide a letter of sponsorship without Board approval on the individual letter.

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Finchsave Committee.  Dale here are the answers to your questions for the 3rd Quarter Report.

1. Define what Finchsave does for NFSS now?

DEFINITION AND PURPOSE Long term goal: To have an established consortium of breeders of finches and softbills dedicated to producing and maintaining a viable captive bred population of finches and softbills in the United States. SHORT TERM GOAL: Consistent breeding success with participating species.

2. What is the current purpose of the Finchsave Breeding Consortium?

Conservation should be a key factor with maintaining the FinchSave Breeding Consortium and keeping accurate records of all FinchSave Participants. NFSS record keeping will be a new challenge and sharing the many different ways to record keep could benefit all NFSS members.

The current purpose of the Finchsave Breeding Consortium is bring in new bloodlines of Waxbills into the United States in order to establish producing and maintaining a viable captive bred population. If we have enough new bloodlines in captivity this could ensure their survival even if they are danger in the wild from natural disasters. As private collectors we could work with over 2000 zoos in the world by sharing our success and failures working as one for conservation purposes. We can publish our results in the many Avicultural trade magazines showing that the FinchSave Program is making a difference!

3. What does NFSS want to accomplish with Finchsave?

NFSS wants to use the newly appointed FINCHSAVE COMMITTEE to help meet the goals and enhance needs of NFSS in aviculture today. 1. Daniel Almaguer 2. Ian Hinze 3. Kerri McCoy 4. Ginny Allen 5. Carol Heesen 6. Sally Huntington 7. Jeff Bridges

DEFINITION AND PURPOSE Long term goal: To have an established consortium of breeders of finches and softbills dedicated to producing and maintaining a viable captive bred population of finches and softbills in the United States. SHORT TERM GOAL: Consistent breeding success with participating species.

4. How does Finchsave compare to other national co-op breeding programs?

Unfortunately FinchSave had been stagnant over many years and now has 40 participants waiting to be directed on the next step to conservation success. The Requirements are in question in order to encourage more of the 900 NFSS members to participate. AFA does not require close bands for their co-op program relying heavily on record keeping and this is the question with the FinchSave Program of possibly have two tier of FinchSave Participants? Accurate record keeping techniques must made consistent and easy. The close band issue is another rule that is part of the FinchSave Program and the Breeder Recognition Program could give us the second tier need to allow open bands?

5. Does Finchsave meet the requirements for USDA and USFW to accept a meaningful endorsement by NFSS for individuals to work with endangered species and set up breeding facilities?  What changes to the above answers, rules, program definitions, etc., does NFSS need to make to update the program for 2000 and beyond to serve the current NFSS membership?

The requirements for USDA and USFW to accept a meaning endorsement by NFSS requires a lot of work from the new FinchSave Committee. We must prove to them that NFSS can and will adhere to rules and regulations needed to make us accepted in the professional Avicultural world. See the posting by FinchSave Committee member Kerri McCoy:

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FROM: Kerri McCoy

I received a letter to my request for information on waxbill importation into the US. Read the below Ian and let me know how you would like me to proceed. Obviously as suspected no answers to your questions.

This letter responds to your Freedom of Information Act request of July 7, 2000, for information pertaining to the first importation of waxbill finches to the United States. Although some waxbill finches have been listed in the CITES Appendix III since 1976, they were imported into the US well before that time and were not regulated by the Fish and Wildlife Service except for the requirement to decelerate this specimen at the port of entry.

The US Department of Agriculture/APHIS would be the best source for this type of information. Another good source that you can reference is a book entitled, "Estrildid Finches of the World" by Derek Goodwin, published by Cornell University Press. The booklet gives both ornithological and Avicultural information on the species. Also you can contact Mr. Josef Lindholm III, who works at the Cameron Park Zoo (254-750-8499) in Waco, Texas. He has a wealth of knowledge about the history of aviculture and may be a member of the National Finch and Softbill Society organization. If so, you should be able to locate his contact information thru them.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mary Maruca, International Affairs, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 700 Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 358-2093.

Susan Lieberman, Chief Office of Scientific Authority

Kerri McCoy NFSS 1st Vice President http://www.NFSS.org

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This question and idea of Two Tier being the Breeder Recognition Program are from Dale Laird, President NFSS to be submitted to the 3rd Quarter Report.

1. If NFSS moves to allowing unbanded babies be a part of Finchsave produced birds is it really a Finchsave program or a breeder recognition program?

The possibility of a Two Tier FinchSave program allowing open bands could be a Breeder Recognition Program and component of the FinchSave Program. This could be discussed by the FinchSave Committee and then presented to the NFSS Board after first draft. A possible time frame could be between 90-120 days or longer and a comparison of research on other programs worldwide. The data for the new BREEDER RECOGNITION PROGRAM must be written and presented to the NFSS Board whom will have to decide once date is ready for review.

2. How can we track unbanded babies to prove Finchsave bred?

We must make a consistent record keeping program for both tiers of FinchSave if we should decide on them. This must be decided by the FinchSave Committee and approved by the NFSS Board.

Thanks Dale and hope I answered all the questions for you, feel free to contact me.

Best wishes, Daniel Almaguer 3rd Vice President NFSS, FinchSave Director, Census Manager Disney Animal Kingdom, Associate Animal Keeper, Bird Department

From the Membership Director - We have 650 active members at this time including dual members. The internet is generating some new members and the Renewal notices I mail out every two months generates quite a few renewals.

Dale Laird
President NFSS 

Last modified: April 08, 2007
Copyright © 1999 National Finch and Softbill Society