Contact Us

DAS Nominations for the

Avicultural Advancement Council of Canada's

Avicultural Hall of Fame

The Avicultural Advancement Council of Canada (AACC) is a national Canadian organization consisting of avicultural societies, individual aviculturists and pet bird owners.  The AACC came into being in the early seventies to fulfill the need for a truly national aviculture organization to establish a uniform set of standards for the exhibition of cage birds in Canada.  Over the years its objectives have expanded to include setting ethical standards for the management, exhibition, captive breeding and conservation of all non-agriculture bird species kept in captivity in Canada.  

AACC will be establishing a Hall of Fame to recognize important contributions in bird keeping in all its many forms.  They will dedicate space on the website (www.aacc.ca) to recognize all people accepted into the Hall of Fame.   AACC has invited nominations detailing the contributions and achievements of the nominee and the relative importance and significance of their activities.

The following are copies of nominations submitted by DAS members to AACC for their consideration.  The order on this page was determined by the date the nomination was sent and has no other significance.  

AACC has now set up The Hall of Fame on their website.  It can be found  HERE

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

John Zerafa

    nominated by Jacquie Blackburn   

John Zerafa –

John has been interested in birds since he was a boy, starting with breeding canaries nearly sixty (60) years ago.  He has successfully bred and exhibited canaries, softbills, hummingbirds, finches and small hookbills.

Over the past forty (40) years, John has been an active member of a number of bird clubs. For more than thirty (30) of those years he judged foreign birds and then  budgerigars.  At present John is a champion breeder, exhibitor and judge and continues to pursue his interest in a number of species.

John was the first Canadian correspondent for the international budgerigaqr publication , “Budgerigar Worlds.” from England when it started in 1982.

John considers the Durham Avicultural Society (DAS) his home club.  He is always the calm voice of reason when the club is faced with difficult issues.  Over the past twenty (20) years he has held the positions of President and Bulletin Editor.  As Show Manager for many of those years, including three (3) Canadian Nationals, he consistently demonstrated his organizational skills. In 2007 the DAS bestowed Life Membership” on John for his many years of service.

To showcase his hobby, his birds and his ideas related to the fancy John recently started a web page. www.johnzerafa.ca 

I am proud to have worked with John for more than twenty (20) years and feel certain his achievements as an aviculturist have earned him a place in the Avicultural Advancement Council of Canada’s Hall of Fame.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

   Jacquie Blackburn

nominated by DAS 2008 Executive Committee  

Jacquie worked for Environment Canada (EC), Atmospheric Environment Service (AES) before retiring in 1987 from the position of Digital Data Manager, having responsibility for the millions of historical weather records and the computer software to exploit them.

She and Frank, her husband of more than 53 years, share an interest in birds.  He started racing pigeons with his father as a boy.  Frank has a trophies won by his Father and Uncle in 1913.  Jacquie likes to read, is a fabulous cook, and she and her husband, Frank, have a lovely garden in which they enjoy spending time. 

 Jacquie started keeping birds more than 25 years ago and acquired her first parrot, an Amazon, when she retired.  Although she shares her home with Amazons, a Blue and Gold Macaw and a Congo African Grey, she derives her greatest pleasure from hand raising Timneh African Greys to be superb companion birds.

As a breeder of Timneh African Grey Parrots, Jacquie raises her birds in a positive and nurturing environment.  Lots of stimulation is provided through toys, handling, and encouragement when climbing and learning to fly.  She offers a wide variety of foods in various stages, including cooked, raw and partially cooked, for the babies to first play with and then learn to eat.  Prospective owners are allowed opportunities to spend quality time with their baby before they actually adopt, and Jacquie keeps in touch with many of her babies’ owners after they have taken their chick home.  If necessary, Jacquie will take back any of her babies and re-home them.  She has also taken other unwanted birds into her home, worked with them, and then found them suitable homes.

Jacquie has often helped and counseled many DAS members.  Although she may get angry, as we all do, she still manages to maintain a calm, willing and helpful attitude.

Most club members aren’t even aware of the years of work she has devoted to keeping DAS going, or how generous she always was in the early years when DAS was low on funds.  Many times, she put the deposit on the show hall for the DAS annual show using her own money, until the club could reimburse her.  One year, when the club members were attempting to raise the money to build their own judging benches for their annual show, Jacquie offered the price of one of her baby Timneh African Grey chicks if DAS members could match the amount through fund raising. 

Nothing is too much trouble for Jacquie when it comes to DAS.  She has hosted the executive meetings in her home for years, and the executive members have had the pleasure of sampling her wonderful baking.

In bad times for DAS, when they were down to only twelve members, Jacquie rallied the troops and got them fired up to pull together and get the club working again.  DAS is now averages more than a hundred members each year.  Some of the members who have been with the club the longest wonder whether there would even be a Durham Avicultural Society today without Jacquie working so hard and so long to keep it going strong.

After serving as secretary and/or treasurer of the Durham Avicultural Society (DAS) from 1981, Jacquie gave up those positions in 1990 to organize the annual Canadian Parrot Symposium (CPS).  For the next 13 years she worked diligently to bring top aviculturists from around the world to the CPS.  In 2002 the Avicultural Advancement Council of Canada (AACC) presented her with their Merit Award in recognition of her dedication and service to aviculture. Jacquie was instrumental in starting the Canadian Parrot Symposium (West) held in Victoria each spring and continues as an ‘honourary’ director.

Jacquie is very organized.  She accepts offers of help from others willingly and shows appreciation of their efforts.  She has very strong negotiating skills, as seen in her dealings with the Hilton Hotel and bookings for the symposium.  Jacquie’s goal was to educate people regarding parrot care, and to raise funds for avian studies at Guelph University through supporting a scholarship fund… and she met these commitments very successfully.

She received the Golden Bird Award from the DAS in 1997 and again in 2005.  In 2006 the Canadian Parrot Conference presented her with the Aviculture Service Award.

Jacquie has also attended the meetings in Oshawa, Ontario regarding the regulation of breeding or keeping more than two animals or critters in your home, along with going to Milton to fight for the rights of people there.  She has frequently stood up in city councils to voice the opinions and needs of bird breeders and pet bird owners.

Although Jacquie has no children of her own, she has made a positive impact on young members of DAS by encouraging them in their interest in birds.  She provides guidance for young people (and older ones as well) who are interested in adopting a bird of any species, not just those who intend to purchase one of her Timneh babies.  She willingly shares her knowledge and experience in a positive and non-inhibiting manner with anyone in need of help with their birds.

Jacquie is always interested in attending informative conferences and workshops to increase her knowledge and does not try to give the impression that she has all the answers and knowledge that she needs already.

Jacquie resumed the position of secretary of DAS in 2002, the year this club hosted the Canadian National Bird Show to celebrate their 25^th Anniversary.  Currently Jacquie is both secretary and treasurer.

Most of the members can’t remember a time when Jacquie wasn’t an active and willing volunteer in the Durham Avicultural Society, and finding anyone who can remember a time when she wasn’t on the DAS executive committee is a challenge. 

There is no one who has done more for our club, the Durham Avicultural Society, and undoubtedly there are very few who have done more for Canadian aviculture as well as for those who love these birds that we have as companions and/or breed in our homes.

For all of these reasons, we would respectfully request that you consider entering Jacquie Blackburn in your Avicultural Hall of Fame.  Those who know her well, know that there is no one more deserving of this honour.

Thank you for your consideration!

Submitted by:

Diane and Jim Gilchrist

for the 2008 DAS Executive Committee

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Mark Hagen

    nominated by Diane and Jim Gilchrist - DAS   

The Hagen name has been widely known as a manufacturer and supplier of pet products throughout most of Canada.  Rolf Hagen was the founder of this company, and his son, Mark Hagen, carried on with this interest in pets while specializing in birds.  Mark Hagen has become a name that is well known to most ‘bird people’ for many reasons apart from the pet industry.

Mark Hagen is the Research Director of the Hagen Avicultural Research Institute (HARI).  He received a Master of Agriculture degree from the University of Guelph, and specialized in Psittacine Aviculture.  Mark concentrated on nutrition and zoology for his Bachelor of Science degree, and attended a semester at the University of California, taking courses in cage bird medicine, nutrition and avian science.  He wrote his first paper on parrot breeding in 1983, and established HARI in 1985.

After five years of housing birds indoors in a converted warehouse, Mark designed the new HARI facility in Rigaud, Quebec in 1989, which incorporated the latest techniques in environmental control.  His research presently includes nutrition, and the influence of temperature, humidity and light cycles on breeding.

Mark also speaks French and German, and is making connections with European aviculturists in order to trade captive bred birds for a wider gene pool.

Conservation is one of his most important concerns.  He gives talks to school children on the importance of rainforests, and has bought over 100 acres of rainforest through the World Wildlife Fund of Canada.

Mark attended the 1987, 1989 and 1994 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meetings in Ottawa, Canada, Lausanne, Switzerland and Fort Lauderdale, USA.  CITES is trying to ensure that sustainable levels of trade in wild-caught parrots are achieved.  This should give an incentive to Tropical Countries to preserve the habitat that supports this natural resource. A firm believer in this philosophy, Mark would like to assist these countries in captive breeding their own species of tropical birds.

Mark believes in sharing his experiences and knowledge.  He’s published dozens of papers relating to the work at HARI and several of these have been presented at many of the avicultural conferences held every year throughout Canada and the United States.

Research Papers can be seen at:

http://www.hagen.com/hari/docu/papers.html

Some of them are:

- Comparing Two Feeding Methods in an Outdoor Aviary

- Avian Nutrition: Trends and Philosophies

- Identification Methods in Parrots

- The Acquisition, Husbandry and Breeding of Common Amazons

- Artificial Incubation Applied to Bird Eggs

- Nutritional Observations, Hand Feeding Formulas and Digestion in Exotic Birds

- Psittacine Pediatrics: Housing and Feeding of Baby Parrots

- Disease Prevention Through Proper Sanitation and Disinfection in an Indoor Psittacine Breeding Facility

- Ventilation Systems for Indoor Breeding Facilities

- Recommended Feeding Methods for Companion Birds

The first Canadian Parrot Symposium(CPS) was held in 1990 in Toronto by organizers Jacquie Blackburn and Silvio Mattachione.  The success of the CPS has made it possible to give something back to aviculture.  To this end, Jacquie Blackburn and Silvio Mattacchione, directors of the CPS, established the Graduate Award in Avian Studies at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph.  Each year, surplus revenue and the money raised from an auction held at the symposium are added to the endowment.  The principal remains intact, with the award(s) made from the interest earned.  The contribution to this endowment from Mark Hagen and HARI is now $34,500.  Students demonstrating an interest in and pursuing studies dealing with companion birds, their welfare, and the human/companion bird relationship are eligible.

Mark has also been generous in his donations to avian clubs and organizations.  Having spent over 10 years looking after the Durham Avicultural Society’s raffle at their Annual Caged Bird Show until about 2001, I can personally attest to Mark Hagen’s generosity.  Bird clubs have traditionally been sent Starter Kits for birds, as well as bags of food and pellets for a variety of species when they have been having their annual bird shows.  These donations have been used by the clubs as fundraisers, with the profit helping to pay for their shows, or aiding in the expenses that any club has.  Mark has also donated silver coins, generally with bird themes, as well as bird figurines.

Bird breeders have been able to accept Mark’s help as well because of the breeder accounts that he allowed to be set up.  This allowed breeders, whose expenses are huge, to take advantage of lower prices for the supplies that they required regularly.

And Mark’s generosity hasn’t stopped there.  He is well known for his donations of seed and pellets to parrot rescue organizations, two of which are Parrot Adopt of Southern Ontario PASO) and Second Flight Parrot Sanctuary.

Mark has worked hard to better the life of birds, and their keepers.  Although he has a well-known and respected company behind him, he has definitely made his mark as much more than a pet supplier.  He has done so much for aviculture… by helping the pet keeper, assisting the breeder, donating to the bird club members, giving a hand to students studying aviculture, working to preserve the wild birds’ natural habitat, and sharing his knowledge with others.

With all of this, it’s easy to see why Mark Hagen would be a perfect candidate for the AACC Hall of Fame.

Thank you for your consideration.

Submitted by:

Diane and Jim Gilchrist

The Durham Avicultural Society

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Margaret and Peter Mostart

    nominated by Elaine and Mike Manley  

Peter Mostart is a third generation aviculturist from Holland.  His father, both grandfathers and at least six uncles all kept birds.  He has been keeping and breeding birds for 54 years, when at the age of 10 he was given his own pair of canaries.  On birthdays when the family was together, the men spent hours talking about birds… which Peter always found fascinating (the children weren’t allowed to talk).  When they went on vacation, they would spend one day at the beach and one day at the zoo.  The zoo was the highlight for Peter, who could stand for hours in front of those large display cages dreaming, not realizing that one day he would be looking after birds like that.

Keeping parrots was much by accident.  It could have been raptors (he likes owls) or pheasants, or actually anything with feathers, no matter how ugly.  He would have kept vultures if that had been the route his life had taken, believing that some, like the King vultures are actually very beautiful.  Luckily for parrot lovers, his interest developed in parrots.

Margaret Mostart has had an admiration and affection for all creatures for as long as she can remember.  In 1966, she married Peter, who already had a number of birds, and shortly afterwards she took over the nurturing task of hand feeding chicks when the parents stopped feeding them.  In fact, she was feeding three baby Cedar Waxwings while on their honeymoon in Muskoka, and that was the last time that they were away together for more than two days.  It was the beginning of a lifetime commitment.  Margaret also does gardening, which she calls her ‘escape from the world’, and she enjoys feeding and watching wild birds in her backyard.

Peter had shown birds in the late sixties, and early seventies with reasonably good success.  He still has the front page of the Bradford Witness newspaper with Peter as a proud new father, showing his birds and the trophies he had won at the Royal Winter Fair in November of 1968.

About ten years ago Peter was asked to judge Hookbills by the Hamilton club.  Unfortunately, there were a few disgruntled birdkeepers who felt that he had not learned enough to judge.  Later, one judge suggested that he should begin exhibiting  again to silence the complainers.  His first show was the last Canadian National Bird Show that was organized by the Durham Avicultural Society.  He entered only three birds, but he won the Best Medium Parrot, Best Large Parrot, and also the Best Hookbill in Show… and there were no more complaints.  Peter became and accredited AACC Show Judge, and judged about a dozen shows.  He withdrew as a judge from the AACC last year when he started to receive calls from out of province, which he turned down.  It didn’t seem fair to have Margaret look after the birds when he was gone for a few days at a time since the preparation and feeding takes aobut four hours.  However, he enjoyed judging, and would be willing to so again locally.

Peter has been involved in City Hall battles against by-laws that would be harmful to aviculturists, first in Toronto and later in Kitchener, where he gave presentations.

He has been asked by Chris Holoboff (barrister and solicitor, Toronto) to represent aviculturists and give them his perspective.

Peter believes that he would not have been able to accomplish his breeding programme without the help of Margaret.  He thinks knows that he is fortunate to have a wife who enjoys the hobby as much as he does.  She looks after the babies from the time they hatch in the incubator or are pulled form the nest.  This means that at certain times of the year, she is stuck from early morning until late at night, and in addition, she is his back up.

They have bred eight different species of Cockatoos, including the Moluccan, Citron and Palm… all of which are on CITES Appendix 1.  Margaret has raised twenty-nine different species of parrots, including the Hawkheaded Parrot, and the Palm Cockatoo.

Peter has always dreamed of breeding something that was a challenge.  They had Palm Cockatoos for thirteen years before they finally raised the first chick.  The Victoria Crown Pigeons took ten years.  The problem in both cases was that mates were virtually impossible to find, and two birds of the same sex don’t do well.  He also suggests that patience helps.

Most people end up with smaller birds because of space limitations, but Peter wanted to be different, and that comes with a price.  It was very challenging to build the proper accommodation, and he wanted to be proud of what they were doing.  So he built outside flights… and more outside flights.  He needed a solarium that was good enough to persuade the Crown Pigeons to produce, and for the many birds with were stuck indoors every winter.  They built a one-hundred-foot long flight, which they called “Summer Camp”, and they have had as many as seventy birds in there at the same time, with the criteria being, of course, that they are compatible.  Rosemary Lowe has said that every birdkeeper should have a flight like this.

Margaret and Peter have sent parent-raised Hawkheads to other breeders all across the country, and the same with Moluccan and Citron Crested Cockatoos.  They have even sent young Sulphur Crested Cockatoos to Europe, and of course, all of the cockatoos were hand-reared, but raised in and environment with other cockatoos.  Peter is concerned that the breeding of cockatoos may come to an end within the next twenty years because most cockatoo breeders are gone, or have given up.  Peter and Margaret still have ten pairs set up.  They kept one Hyacinth Macaw for eleven years, but it went to another zoo because they have an experience hen, which they did not want to part with.  Peter believes that it’s better to try breeding them there than to have two single birds miles apart.

The Mosterts have had a working relationship with the Toronto Zoo (then known as Riverdale Zoo) since 1965.  He was later able to convince the Toronto Zoo to partnership with some other species.  Presently, they have Hyacinth Macaws, Galahs and Crown Pigeons set up in breeding situations.  At the moment The Toronto Zoo is undergoing major renovations, and spaces for large birds are limited. Even for zoos it has become more difficult to obtain new birds or fresh bloodlines, so this arrangement benefits both of them. They share in the youngsters, which now stay in the country. A young Redtail Black Cockatoo, born at the zoo, which Peter and Margaret received in February, 2008 has now fully recovered and hopefully in due time they will be able find a mate for it.

In 1967, Peter and Margaret joined the Budgerigar and Foreign Bird Society.  Peter’s first show trophy is dated 1968.  They joined the Golden Triangle Parrot Club in the late 1970's, shortly after it was started.  For many years they held positions including president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, bulletin editor, and archivist.  Later they joined the other major clubs, all of which they still belong to. Over the years they have made numerous presentations to all those clubs- sometimes several times, but Peter enjoyed the presentations at the Parrot Symposiums the most… it was such a classy event!!

Margaret and Peter used to visit schools – they would take birds, eggs, feathers, nestboxes and so on.  As the word spread among school principals, they eventually had to back off a bit because they would get calls weekly from as far as Toronto. Although Peter’s employer approved of these outings, eventually all good things come to an end. Peter stills speak one day each year at the Vet College in Guelph as part of the 3third year curriculum for veterinary students.  During the breeding season, those students who are interested are invited to Peter and Margaret’s place to see the "operation" first hand.  One year they had 72 students!  They would arrive and leave every hour in groups of ten.

Margaret and Peter were presented with the Aviculture Service Award last year at the Canadian Parrot Conference. 

To sum it up, Peter feels that there is never a dull moment and he always has more dreams. Birds have been their life, with their interest moving toward the unusual and hard to breed species. Ownership has not been important.  Instead, it's been the challenge of being able to breed them so that all of our grandchildren can some day enjoy them.

Margaret and Peter are definitely a team, and as such we would like to nominate them to share the prestige of a place in the Avicultural Council of Canada’s Hall of Fame.  There are very few who have done more for Canadian aviculture than this couple.

For all of these reasons, we would respectfully request that you consider entering Margaret and Peter Mostert in your Avicultural Hall of Fame.  They are definitely very deserving of this honour.

Thank you for your consideration!

Submitted by:

Elaine and Mike Manley

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The current Internet Explorer version is 6.0 available here.
The current Netscape version is 7.0 available here