Members' breeding returns (incorporates 2023 returns)

At the start of every calendar year, all members are sent a breeding returns form. Members indicate the number of birds they have bred in the previous year for each species kept. The returns are then collated by the WFS breeding records officer and made available for discussion/ wider understanding. The returns seek to provide a picture of a species popularity and its continued viability in aviculture (both in the UK and in continental Europe) and act as a focus on deciding which birds will be be set as the target species for members for the following year. All members are encouraged to return their forms - even if they haven't bred any waxbills that year.

The 2023 returns have now been collated and have been incorporated into the chart below. This alphabetical view covers a 12-year period from 2012-2023 but the totals column sums the full WFS returns covering 1992-2023, which can be downloaded  in .xls format  or, if required,  in .pdf  to print. Please note: we are continuing to colour-code breeding numbers against species - a heat map that presents a visual representation of the risks for individual species associated with these annual returns.

With the recent annual breeding returns, it has become quite evident that the lockdown period and subsequent difficulty in accessing waxbills from mainland Europe has had a serious effect on waxbill keeping and breeding within the UK. With that backdrop, the WFS committee felt an additional UK-bred listing might provide a focus for a future strategy to protect and enhance our waxbill species and breeding numbers within the UK. This is the first time we've set out this additional listing and changes to subsequent iterations are very possible.

The club is grateful to all members who have participated.

•  Back to the top of the page