AST Meetings

Meetings are held on the second Sunday of each month at the Tucson Metro Fraternal Order of Police Lodge at 3445 North Dodge, Tucson, Arizona. (Note to members: tell your friends the FOP Lodge is available to rent for events, and they should mention AST when they book it. If the hall is rented through an AST member, the FOP will give AST a percentage of the rent received.)

The meeting normally runs from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm. The first half hour is an informal period where people are free to take advantage of club resources, and the formal part of the meeting begins at approximately 2:00 pm. There is a guest speaker at most meetings, as well as a question and answer period where people are welcome to ask anything about birds. The meeting concludes with a raffle with all sorts of bird-related items and sometimes live birds.

Services offered before the meeting and during intermission include free wing and toenail clipping for all birds (including non members). DNA testing is available for members' birds for a nominal fee; contact Joyce Lekawa at 790-7587 or mrs.squig@cox.net in advance for information. Club members may have birds and bird paraphernalia for sale, and the AST Library has books, magazines, and videos available for members to borrow.

AST members own anywhere from one bird to hundreds of birds. Some members are pet owners and others 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 are 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..

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.