This was my first visit to the National since 2022; a welcome opportunity to assess the 2025 crop of Lizard canaries. I was struck by the evenness of the overall standard, novices included, and there were several causes for optimism. 103 Lizards had been entered, an excellent number for such an early show. More importantly, 32 of them were Novice birds; an encouraging sign for the future.
This was Danny Higgin’s first official engagement as an LCA judge, and he performed with flying colours. I was very happy with his selections; the best birds rose to the top, which is what everyone wants to see.
Best Lizard was benched by Carlos de Santa Ana, a lovely non cap gold hen with excellent spangles, rowings and colour. It was a popular victory because Carlos is one of those fanciers who puts more into the fancy than he takes out, always ready to support the LCA and help at shows. His birds have been improving steadily and becoming more competitive. This was the moment all his good work paid off; his turn to receive the accolades. They were well deserved.
Second Best Lizard and Best Novice Lizard was a broken cap gold hen benched by Colin Whitehouse. Another beautiful bird, well marked and bolder than the winner, but Danny rightly placed her second because of a slight run on her cap. Colin had a good start to his show career in 2024, but wisely reinforced his breeding team over the winter. I wasn’t surprised to see him make good progress.
Third Best Lizard was a broken cap silver cock bred by Ray Anthony. It was an eye-catching bold bird with excellent spangles that always aligned whenever I looked at him. That’s a very desirable feature in a show Lizard.
Best Natural Lizard was Andy Williamson’s near-non cap silver hen. Another cobby, well marked bird with profuse rowings. I think the show was a little early for her, but she’s bound to improve as her plumage tightens up.
The icing on the cake was seeing Carlos’ non cap winning the award for Best Canary in Show, maintaining the excellent record of Lizard canaries in recent years. Well done Carlos.
I had only one concern about the birds on show and that was the number of birds from different breeders that were light between the legs. It’s a fundamental fault. For anyone in doubt, I recommend they read my article ‘Bottoms Up!’.
Overall, it was a good start to the show season. The Lizard section was well organised, well supported, and everything ran smoothly. The banners featuring Lizard canaries were eye-catching, although the aisle was so crowded in the afternoon that it was difficult to see them properly! A nice problem to have. Show secretary Andy Beesley and his team are to be congratulated. Here are the major awards:
