WELCOME TO OUR SPRING CAMBRIDGE BIRD SALE NEWSLETTER Sunday 2nd April will be the first of our two spring sales in 2023. With the breeding season now upon us this may be your last chance to fill in those gaps in your stock before it's too late. Tables are again sold out so we're expecting a large turn out of surplus stock to be on sale. Thank you to everyone who has booked their entry wristbands in advance; if you haven't yet then you only have until 10pm Thursday to do so. So, it's shaping up to be another good one; we hope to see you there. |
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What is it about January?When we started up just before lockdown we had a huge turn out for the very first sale in January 2020. We never thought we could match that, but in January 2023 you turned out in your droves to make it our most successful sale to date. All tables were sold so there were plenty of birds for sale and you really went to town buying them! Our breeders all reported brisk sales of their stock and many of them re-booked their tables for April before they left that day. In fact there were so many people we have decided to modify our entry/membership system once again to get everyone inside a bit faster (see 'Memberships' further down). |
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Sunday 2nd April 11:00–13:00 |
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The next Cambridge Bird Sale will take place on Sunday 2nd April at Milton Community Centre, Milton, Cambridge, CB24 6BL - Breeders, societies & trade tables selling everything for your aviculture fix! - Ample free parking. Hot & cold food & drink available. -Doors open 11am. Admission £4 (advance) or £5 (on the door). TABLES ARE SOLD OUT. | | |
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GET 20% DISCOUNT AND PRIORITY ENTRY BY BOOKING YOUR WRISTBANDS BY 10pm ON THURSDAY 30th MARCH. If you book in advance we can get everything prepared for you prior to the day, all you have to do is turn up to collect your wristbands and membership cards. As a thank you for booking this way you get the following benefits: It's 20% cheaper. If you haven't already got one you will receive a membership fob with your number on it which is all you'll have to write down when you buy birds. You can get in the trade area anytime from 8:30am to stock up on supplies. You can get to the cafe anytime from 8:30am for refreshments. You won't have to queue at the front doors. You get priority entry to the main hall at 10:45am which is 15 minutes before the main queue starts coming in.
More and more of you are now booking this way and those of you who have done so in the past will know just how simple it makes things on the day. #BeatTheQueue Click the button below to take advantage of this offer: (Offer expires at 10pm Thursday 30th) |
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AND IF YOU FORGET TO BOOK IN ADVANCE... Obviously some people won't be able to book in advance for various reasons, and if you're one of them then there is one thing you can do to mitigate the amount of time you spend in the queue waiting to get in: PLEASE arrive at least 20 minutes before the door opening time. That way you will be able to park up, purchase a wristband and when the doors open at 11am you can just walk in. If you turn up at 11am it's likely you won't get in until at least 11:15am. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! |
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MEMBERSHIPS We are making another slight adjustment to the membership system, starting with the forthcoming April sale. We will still be issuing memberships to everyone who books in advance, but we will no longer be taking memberships on the day of the sale. With the amount of people we are now getting through the doors it is almost unmanageable to sign everyone up when they arrive. It appears that we have outgrown the system which we put in place to make life easier! What this means is that if you haven't already got a membership and want the benefits that go with it you will have to buy your wristbands in advance. Your membership cards and wristbands will then be prepared and waiting for you when you arrive. Those of you who haven't been before and who turn up to pay on the morning of the sale will NOT now receive a membership, meaning you will need to leave your name and address with the seller when you buy birds (a government rule, not ours!). If you are a member you simply leave your membership number instead, which we believe is a much more secure way to do it. So, either book yourself up in advance, or be prepared to leave your contact details with the seller when you purchase birds. Either way, we should now have everyone from the queue inside the venue that bit faster than before. |
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Café and Trade Area Opening Earlier Another modification we are making for Sunday is that the CAFÉ and TRADE AREA will now be open for anyone who has pre-booked from 8:30am instead of 9:30am as it was previously. The reason for this is mainly for the table holders, many of whom arrive very early to get parked up and ready to load in. Now they can access the trade area occupied by Essex Bird Centre and the café instead of standing around in the rain and cold for an hour. Although it's early, if you've booked in advance you are also welcome to use this area any time from 8:30 as well. |
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Dyer's Mesh For the third sale in a row Dyer's Mesh will be making the long journey up from Yeovil in Somerset to attend our sale. Terry Dyer and his company are a huge supporter of aviculture in general and can be seen at many of the bird sales around the country. They can supply all the wire mesh and related accessories to make your flights and aviaries. If there's anything specific you need them to bring then contact them direct and they'll make sure they bring it with them. Click the picture below to visit their website: |
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BIRDS FOR SALE @ THE SALE |
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It's the most viewed page on the website: what birds are going to be there on the day? At the time of writing 19 out of 42 breeders have sent us their list of birds. Keep an eye on this page over the next few days as we'll add to this when the remaining people confirm what they are bringing. Whilst we can never know exactly what birds will be on sale on the day we do ask breeders to provide us with a list of what they are likely to bring as a guide. This is not a cast-iron guarantee that every bird on the list will be at the sale, but it is also by no means a complete list of all the birds which will be there and many more are expected on the day. Click the button below to see what we have booked in so far: | | |
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SOCIETIES Bird clubs & societies are a big part of our sale days and several will be there taking memberships and giving advice on various bird species. Many of them also bring members' birds to sell on their tables. Societies booked so far include: |
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| | The NFBA is a pro-active bird club formed in 1974. They organise three very successful sale days each year in Norwich and stage their open show in Spixworth during September. They also find time to run monthly meetings and trips to various bird parks and zoos. | | |
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| | The Australian Finch Society caters for those who keep, breed and exhibit the native Australian Finches and the various Parrot Finches. The AFS will be promoting their society as well as offering advice and a selection of members' birds for sale. | | |
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| | The BKA is based in Essex and is the organiser of a number of bird sales in West Thurrock, as well as undertaking external projects such as charity work to restore a local park aviary.
They will be promoting the association, taking memberships and selling a selection of members' birds. | | |
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| | The N&SAFS is a local branch of the Australian Finch Society UK. They organise regular meetings at the Needham Market Community Centre in Suffolk, always with a cup of tea, often with a guest speaker and usually with some members' birds on sale. | | |
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Do you want your bird club/society to be represented in front of a captive audience of bird keepers? If so please get in touch with us. |
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#BeSocialThere are numerous ways to keep up to date with Cambridge Bird Sale online: |
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| | Get the latest news sent straight to your phone on our WhatsApp newsgroup. | | |
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| | Like our page on Facebook for regular updates on all the important sale news. | | |
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| | Follow us on Instagram for pictures, flyers and news of forthcoming sales. | | |
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| | Follow us on Twitter for all the latest sale tweets, and don't forget to re-tweet us! | | |
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NEW TO BIRD KEEPING? The National Council for Aviculture have produced this handy booklet with valuable information regarding the care of birds. The booklet, 16 pages in colour, describes some of the things that need to be considered before taking up the keeping of birds, whether that be a single pet bird, a mixed garden aviary, or a collection of exhibition birds. It is essential reading for those interested in or proposing to take up bird-keeping. Excellent photographs illustrate some of the birds that have been kept and bred in captivity by enthusiasts all over the world. Click here to download the booklet. |
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FAQs In the run up to sales we get inundated with lots of very similar questions asking us to confirm basic details about the day, ALL of which is easily accessible on the website. We have therefore created a list of these frequently asked questions based on the things we get asked about the most. Before contacting us have a quick look at this page and you may just save yourself a job! | | |
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BIRD FLUPlease keep an eye on the Bird-Flu Map to make sure you are not in a Control Zone. Birds cannot legally be moved in either direction between Control Zones and bird sales. Also, ground dwelling species such as Quail are currently not permitted at any bird sales. For a more complete explanation please click the button below: | | |
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