British Waterfowl Association - 22nd National Waterfowl Exhibition 2009

Once again, the British Waterfowl Association (BWA) held their National Waterfowl exhibition on the first weekend in November near Solihull in Warwickshire. This was their 22nd National Exhibition and which is a dedicated waterfowl show and has an exceptional display of over 700 waterfowl and eggs in 200 classes. This show provides an ideal opportunity to see some of the very best examples of waterfowl as well as getting an opportunity to talk with the breeders, judges or other enthusiasts about their birds.

There were of course many breeds of Geese on display and I thought the standards were very high. I have recently spent some time photographing geese at the Hannover poultry show and  I was interested to look for breeds that were not on display at this big European show. Of particular interest to me at the moment are Brecon Buff Geese. These are one of the very few breeds of geese to have originated in the UK and are still rare to find.  I am hoping to purchase a pair of Brecon Buffs next year to add to my collection and I was pleased to be able to talk to some of the owners to ensure I was making the right choice. -Pictured- Mary Reeve's Best Brecon Buff showing a lovely pink bill.

The friendly little Hookbill Duck Owned by Anthony Stanway that won Best Hookbil

Of the many breeds of ducks that were on display, I found a beautiful White Bibbed Dusky Mallard Hookbill drake with his characteristic curved bill catching my eye. This little duck was incredibly friendly, coming to the front of the cage to nibble at my fingers whilst I was taking a photograph. It was documented by Harrison Weir (1902) that in Holland, owners of Hook Bills used to release their ducks onto the canals to feed and it was their white bibs that identified them to the hunters and stopped them from being shot. I was very pleased to see this duck getting Best Hookbill later on in the day, it was such a credit to Anthony Stanway the owner.

Tony Axon's Reserve Champion Cayuga	Apricot Silver Call Duck owned by Corinne Downing that took 4 awards including Supreme Show Champion

It is always a pleasure to see some trophies for Junior competitors. The overall Champion Young Exhibitor and Best Junior Waterfowl award for 11 to 16 year olds went to Michael Kulik's White Call Duck and to William Mayers' Call Duck in the 5 to 11 year old category. A great deal of hard work goes into organising a show like this and I would like to thank everybody at the BWA for making me feel so welcome once again. I have already put next year's show in my diary!

Results of the British Waterfowl Association National 2009