John has been the logistics man for all three successful STGF open days and nothing phases him when it comes to organising and running such a successful event. Without John and his unique and dedicated band of workers this event would not have attained the status that it currently enjoys.

The day dawned cool, grey and overcast as the volunteers started to arrive and transform the ordered grounds of the Fidler property in readiness for the150 expected visitors. Tables and chairs were positioned under the huge carport area, the barbeque was fired up with eggs, bacon and sausages cooked ready for scores of people wanting breakfast, dozens of cans of drink were put on ice, water was boiling ready for cups of tea and coffee, the obligatory quarantine pad was in place for visitors to walk through to disinfect their shoes, and volunteers manned the front gate! Let the games begin!

Following the official welcome from Mike Fidler, Dr Sarah Pryke presented an excellent Powerpoint presentation that documented and graphically explained why the Gouldian Finch and other birds, animals and plants are in such serious trouble in the tropical savanna areas across northern Australia. She then went on to explain and highlight the positive impact that research sponsored by the STGF on Gouldian Finch numbers and habitat in areas where the scientists have been and are still currently working.

Dr Pryke also gave a brief insight into the rationale behind the development of the new Wyndham Research Science Centre, funded by the Save The Gouldian Fund to support the research of scientists in that area for the next 21 years.

The organisation of the day differed slightly from that of precious Open Days – the groups were smaller; 20 minute breaks were introduced at regular intervals; and there were three additional stations, for a total of nine, for people to visit. Four stations dealt with practical avicultural information and innovations that any bird breeder can implement in their own aviary at home. Visitors saw the various ways that the finches are housed for breeding and research purposes at the facility. These included the large open flighted aviaries; the new, smaller aviaries that currently house pairs of Crimson Finches, Peter’s Twinspots and Lesser Red-browed Finches; the smaller all wire cabinet-type cages that house the Painted Finches; and the large, outstanding birdroom that has now been become part of the research section and home to the pairs of Red-faced and Blue-faced Parrot finches that Dr Pryke has commenced working with.

Guides at the various stations pointed out and discussed the many innovative feeding and watering fixtures employed to ensure the well-being of all of the finches housed within the complex.

Visitors to the avicultural stations also received in depth information on Mike Fidler’s progress with the development and implementation of a successful captive breeding program for the Crimson Finch. The impetus for this innovative program came from Mike’s observations of colonies of wild Crimsons in the Kimberley region of north-west Australia. Here he noticed that the number of males in any colony of wild Crimsons always seemed to outnumber the females, and that the males spent most of their aggression against other males thus allowing the females to get on with their nesting duties. This lead to a complete break with the traditional way that Crimson Finches had been paired and housed in the past. Experiments have been, with varying degrees of success, with three males housed with one female; two pairs together and five pairs together in different types and sizes of aviaries. To date the most successful set up involved the housing one female with three males, but the research continues!

In the research block, Dr Pryke and her team, including James Brazill-Boast, a Ph.D student also from Macquarie University, imparted information on the research currently underway at the facility. This block is rarely open to the public, as it is here that experiments are in progress to obtain data from the captive birds that may later be used in association with field data collected from wild Gouldians. Upon entering this block you are confronted by a bank of large breeding aviaries.

These aviaries are set up to house up to 10 pairs of Gouldian Finches for breeding experiments. Nest boxes are attached to both long, side walls (approximately 10 boxes on each) with the highest box being on the front section of the wall up near the roof, with others attached on a declining gradient towards the rear of the aviary so that the lowest box is almost equidistant between the roof and the floor. Long lengths of hemp rope are strung from front to rear of the aviary following the same gradient to provide perching areas for the birds to gain easy access to the nest boxes. Extra natural branches are also positioned to provide additional perching areas for the finches. At the front of the aviary is a communal area where the birds can gain access to direct sunlight. All Gouldians carry attached transponders, thus providing each bird with its own unique signature. Each nest box contains a sensor attached via a connection point to an external computer. Each time a Gouldian Finch enters a nest box we have a record of which bird it is, which box it enters, when it entered, how long it stayed in there and when it left the box. In this way we not only record data on nesting birds visits to their own nests, but also record which birds go into other bird’s boxes. The dominant pair usually selects the highest nest box, the second most dominant pair the second highest box and so on down the line. It has been noticed that the dominant female will also lay eggs in other bird’s nests, so there is no way to successfully line breed Gouldian Finches if they are housed on a colony system!

In one of the other sections, experiments were carried out on dominance with Long-tailed Finches, as this species displaces Gouldians from their chosen nesting sites in the wild. Some 50 pairs of Long-tails and 50 pairs of Gouldians were paired in cages with a removable dividing panel inserted in the middle to separate the different species pairs apart. A nest box was placed in each section of the divided cage. Once both pairs had constructed nests, the divider and one of the nest boxes was removed, effectively leaving a pair of Gouldians and a pair of Long-tails together in one cage now containing only a single nest box. The Long-tails won the battle for the remaining box 100% of the time, mirroring exactly what is occurring in the wild where there is a shortage of natural nesting hollows. Visitors were also shown the new STGF environmentally friendly artificial nest boxes for use in the new study area near Wyndham. Some attending the Open Day choose to sponsor one of these new nest boxes. To date we have received sponsorship for over 300 boxes but many more are still needed. Individual nest box sponsorships are available through the STGF at a cost of $25 per box. This is a very easy and inexpensive and productive way to become involved with the work of the Save the Gouldian Fund!

Mike Fidler and well-known Sydney based avian vet Dr Rob Marshall combined to run an Avian workshop throughout the day. Much of the content covered diet and nutrition, but there were also sections on parasites and the problem of some Gouldians developing bald heads after successfully coming through the moult with a full head of feathers. In depth information covering the points arising from the workshop can be found on the STGF website.

Interspersed with the information gathering opportunities mentioned above were opportunities for social interaction between our visitors. Throughout the day the huge four car carport and surrounds became the focal point where people could socialise, talk birds and most importantly get something to eat and drink throughout the day. Around the edge of this area some trade tables had been set up to display a wide variety of items of interest to the people in attendance. Amongst these was the STGF table manned by Arthur Orford who was literally run off his feet all day! In addition to the usual STGf mugs and caps, this year Arthur was promoting the newly introduced individual STGF membership (available for just $25), the newly fledged magazine ‘Endangered’ and the sponsorship of environmentally friendly nestboxes for use as artificial nesting sites for Gouldian Finches in the wild. Many thought that it was Arthur who was becoming ‘endangered’ even more so than the magazine as the day progressed!