Bird lovers flock to canary show

NEWPORT BEACH — Newport Beach resident Beata Mansfield has always loved animals and as a young woman dreamed of the day she could sit in her rocking chair and listen to a canary sing playfully to her.

Five years ago, when she turned 70, her daughter spent hours in a pet store looking for a canary that sang to her liking, Mansfield said. And she found one.

“We’ve always been bird and animal lovers,” Mansfield said. “That was the first time we had a canary, but I just love the bird.”

A few weeks ago, Birdie, Mansfield’s yellow canary, died. But on Saturday afternoon, she walked through rows of colorful canaries chirping and singing in the clubhouse at the Newport Dunes to see if she could find another songbird.

The American Canary Fanciers Assn. met Friday and Saturday for their 27th Annual Bird Show. This year marks the first time the Downey-based group brought their birds to Newport Beach.

Mansfield was amazed at the different colorations and types of canaries that were being judged Saturday. Gloster, Yorkshire and Norwich canaries dotted the small clubhouse room, pecking at food and drinking water in-between letting out their high-pitched songs and tweets. Many people think of a bright lemon-yellow bird when they think of a canary, but the American Canary Fanciers Assn. shows the public there’s much more. The birds come in all sizes and can range from stark whites to deep reds and fantastically bright oranges, yellows and pinks.

“I’m just amazed at the variety,” Mansfield said in the midst of the bird show.

Bird enthusiasts gathered from all over the state and even Las Vegas to see if one of their birds would take home the blue ribbon. Many of the entrants breed canaries and have hundreds of birds. But it’s not all about the birds, said board member Ruben Vega of Ontario.

“This is the bridge to connect friendships,” he said, talking with his friend Nino Hernandez of Santa Monica. “We all have the same hobby.”

Many of the enthusiasts become friends at the shows or meetings. Some keep close relationships with each other, even if they only see one another at canary-related functions, said board member Mary Anne Buckles. Mansfield was also looking to make a friend in a yellow canary that could liven up her home with song.

“To have one sing to you in a pretty cage” is amazing, Mansfield said.

For more information about the all-volunteer nonprofit organization, visit www.acfa-canaryclub.com.