Meetings are held on the second Sunday of each month at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge at 3445 North Dodge, Tucson, Arizona. The meeting normally runs from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm. There is a question and answer period where people are welcome to ask anything about raising birds.

AST members have from one bird to hundreds of birds. Some members are pet owners and keep a few pets, while some members are bird breeders.

If you are new to aviculture, we have many members that have been in it for years and will be glad to help you with any questions you might have. We are quite a diverse group with one common thread - the love of birds.

In the past we have had excellent speakers on Avicultural topics such as bird diseases, nutrition, individual breeds of birds, breeding and hand feeding birds, cage building, First Aid kits, protection against theft, and animal behavior.
Here is list of a few of our past speakers.

* Dr. Branson Ritchie, University of Georgia
     Polyomavirus and other Avian Diseases
* Lyrae Perry, former AFA 2nd Vice President
     Asiatic Parakeets
* Dr. Robert Glock, University of Arizona Diagnostic Lab
     Necropsy of Birds
* Diana May, M.S., University of Arizona (Alex & Irene Pepperberg Lab)
     African Greys in Africa
* Brent Andrus, former AFA Western Regional Director
     The Spix's Macaw Conservation Program
* Noelle Fontaine
     Who travels often to South America and shares her experiences and videos of
     parrots in the wild.. 

Services offered before the meeting and during intermission include free wing and toenail clipping for all birds (includes non members) also DNA testing for members' birds for a nominal fee. Club members have birds and bird paraphernalia for sale, and the AST Library, which is full of informative bird books and videotapes, may be perused at this time. After our speaker presentation, we have a great raffle table with all sorts of birds and bird related items.

AST has recently begun a Finch and Softbill Breeding and Conservation Program.  AST hopes to become more involved in the future conservation of uncommon and endangered birds by purchasing pairs of birds to be bred by AST members. By breeding some of the less common species, we can apply the information to some of the other varieties that are kept but rarely bred. This should enable all of us to increase the domestic supply and decrease the demand for wild caught birds, thereby helping to stop the illegal smuggling of the wild birds.