The House Of Crests - An Educational Website Dedicated To The Gloster Fancy Canary

WELCOME TO MY "HOUSE!"

BIENVENIDOS A MI "CASA!"

GLOSTER NEWS, UPDATES & OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

The Official Date and Time in Bloomingdale, Illinois, U.S.A. is

There's lots you can do to make a difference!

Click on the hands above to learn more.

EARTH HOUR 2008 WAS A HUGE SUCCESS IN CHICAGO!

Earth Hour reminds us again not only in Chicago, known as the City of Big Shoulders, but every city, town and village in every country everywhere, that we must ALL continue to do our part to reduce our footprint on the planet. It is an effort that began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to make everyone aware that we MUST take action on climate change. Let's ALL do our part to insure that our Earth will be around to provide the natural resources for all our children's children's' children and all the birds, animals, fish, plants and trees on it.

Learn what you can do everyday:

http://www.earthhou r.org/earth- hour-every- day

Sign up for Earth Hour 2009 today:

http://www.earthhour.org/signup

THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY "HOUSE"!

THE HOUSE OF CRESTS WEBSITE IS HUGE!

I'M SERIOUS! IT'S HUGE & CONTINUALLY GROWING!

Please note that this page alone is a rather large page on an already huge website! This page is sort of like a newspaper in format, style and content and requires continual scrolling to read the next informative and exciting news item. I appreciate your patience as this page downloads. There are as of this update, over 30 pages on a website that changes daily! Each page will download quickly if you are using DSL and even quicker if you have High Speed Cable Internet Service. If you have dial-up as an ISP (Internet Service Provider), this page will certainly take a while to download. I do sincerely hope your wait will be rewarding and helpful and you enjoy your visit to my House!

Once downloaded though, in order not to miss one exciting feature, please scroll ALL the way down to the bottom of this and every page to see all that is available to you. There are loads of articles to hopefully help you in your quest with Glosters and canaries in general. You will find more photos of quality Glosters on this site than on any other website, anywhere on the World Wide Web! This is the home of the original "Gloster Head Studies", a style copied by others but never duplicated!! This is indeed the most extensive avian website on the Internet dedicated to exhibition Type Canaries!

Welcome! I hope your visit is both enjoyable and educational! - Don Perez

BIRDMAN WINE IS HERE!

In the United States we have a chain of food stores that happen to have the largest selection of certified organic foods. It was during one of my shopping trips there that I came across a brand new wine. It's a Pinot Grigio that tastes great and is quite a nice buy. The name of the winery is Big House Wines located in California. The name of the wine is what intrigued me! The bottle cap has canaries on it and the name of the wine is BIRDMAN!

To find a Whole Foods location near you, click below:

AND THE HOUSE OF CRESTS LINE INDEED CONTINUES!

ROJAS AVIARIES WINS AGAIN!

Jorge Rojas holding the Aviary Rojas Third Best Gloster at the 2007 NCBS Show

It is with continued great pride that I announce the latest great victory by the Chicago team known as The Rojas Brothers who did The House of Crests proud yet another year at the National Cage Bird Show in Denver this month! I congratulate them as I did Mr. Pineda for also following my NINE STEPS TO SUCCESS article to the letter. (See Pineda article below.)

As you may or may not know, the then novice team known as the Rojas Brothers won Second Best Gloster Consort and Sixth Best Gloster in Show at the 2006 National in Chicago last year. That was the first National they ever exhibited in and they did well in their first year of breeding Glosters as novices!

They, like Mr. Pineda, received their breeding team the spring of their winning year and did well with my line! You already know what Casa Canary did against the Florida Gloster breeders in the article below.

This year, the Rojas Brothers carried The House of Crests torch once again by driving a smart team of Glosters to Denver, Colorado to the 2007 National Cage Bird Show. Their Glosters, which I personally groomed and prepared a few days prior to the event, won 4th Best Corona, Second Best Consort, Third Best Consort, Fourth Best Consort and Fifth Best Gloster in Show, Best White in Show with a Blue Consort and Best Yellow Consort in Show with a Yellow/Self Green Intensive, as well as Third Best Gloster in the Show with that 2nd Best Consort, and finally, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, & 10th Best Glosters in Show!! WOW!!

With 5 of the Best 10 Glosters In Show along with the Third Best Gloster in Show all belonging to the Rojas Brothers, this proved them to have the best team of Glosters at this years' National! That, my friends, is fantastic!

The long-time Gloster breeder who won Best Gloster in Show also had Best Consort, 2nd and 5th Best Corona, as well as Best Cinnamon, giving that breeder 4 of the Best 10 Glosters in Show. To round out the Best 10 Glosters at the 2007 NCBS, one Canadian breeder had the Third Best Gloster Corona. This happened to be the same Canadian breeder who won last year's National.

For Rojas Aviaries to have 5 of the 10 of the Best 10 Glosters at the National, my friends, is amazing, especially considering that this is only the second year of their campaigning on the National circuit! Well done gentlemen! You do The House of Crests proud!!

Jorge Rojas in front of some of the Rojas Aviaries winning Glosters

Check out some of The Rojas Aviaries National-Winning Glosters by clicking on each thumbnail below to enlarge it then click the back arrow on your browser bar to then view another winning Gloster of theirs:

ROJAS AVIARIES WINS YET AGAIN!

This past weekend a week after the National Cage Bird Show, the Rojas Brothers took another team of 16 Glosters to the 2007 Annual NIROC Show held near Chicago and they won both heads! Among their wins; Best Gloster in Show, Best Gloster Corona, Best Gloster Consort and all the other Gloster places with that super team, all with young 2007 Glosters! They also won 3rd Best Type Canary in Show with the Consort and 6th Best Type Canary in Show with the Corona! The Corona would have gone all the way to the top had it not had a bit of a mess in the vent area! I know they were super birds as I was there stewarding!

Part of the Rojas Team with Type Judge, Bonnie Williams-Cain with a 'shy' Gloster

CASA CANARY OBTAINS THEIR FIRST VICTORY!

Type Canary Judge, Raquel King & Novice Gloster Breeder, "Freddy" Pineda

Yes, The House of Crest line of Champion Glosters continues to prove itself on the show bench as they are produced in yet another birdroom! This time in a novice breeders' birdroom in Miami, Florida!

Last year the novice breeder team of Miguel & Jorge Rojas of Chicago, Illinois with youngsters produced from original pairings of Glosters purchased in early spring of 2006 from The House of Crests did fantastically well at their very first National Cage Bird Show held here in Chicago. In fact, one of their spectacular young consorts went on to not only win Second Best Consort in Show but also Sixth Best Gloster in Show, winning out over many of the champion Gloster breeders in North America! That winning Gloster was also recognized as the Best Novice Gloster Exhibit at the 2006 National by the United Gloster Breeders Club. I tip my hat to an up and coming Gloster breeding team and wish them many years of success on the showbench! Click here to view a presentation of, what to me, was the Best Gloster at the 2006 NCBS: http://www.glosters-usa.com/winners_photos.htm

This year something very similar happened in Florida! As most newcomers and fanciers know, they must reserve their stud from me almost a year in advance to guarantee them the availability of Glosters the following November. Mr. Wilfredo (Freddy) Pineda did just that. The only thing was in mid-November of last year the weather here in the Midwest was so brutal, no birds were accepted by the airlines until March!! Freddy did not get his HOC pairs until the first week of March of this year! That mattered not since the birds under my care and diet plan arrived to his birdroom extremely fit and ready to breed!

He had a fantastic first season and was so excited that he asked his niece to prepare a special website describing his new adventure with HOC Glosters! Fact is, this is the first set of Glosters he had ever worked with. He had studied the many articles on my HOC website and especially the NINE STEPS TO SUCCESS article. The 9th Step mentions marketing and promotion of a line which is why he wanted a website now!

Freddy would write and call me throughout the year for advice and guidance as he began show-training his team for the Florida Bird Breeders Show, the very first show he will have exhibited in. This past weekend that show took place. The well-known and respected Type Canary Judge, Raquel King of San Antonio, Texas judged the Type Canaries at this 26th annual exhibition.

Let's cut to the chase, Freddy's team did fantastic! The Casa Canary, as Freddy's birdroom is called, won Best Corona, Second Best Corona, Third Best Corona, Best Opposite Head, Best Consort and Third Best Consort!! There were 850 canaries at this event. The final count for Type Canaries was 184 with 28 of them being Glosters from six different Gloster breeders. The Casa Canary won 5 out of the top 6 Glosters! But the Casa Canary was not finished yet!!

His Top Gloster, a sweet, 3/4 dark corona, won Best Type Canary in Show!!! The Pineda family was on cloud nine!

Raquel King, when asked how these top Glosters would do in a major event like the NCBS or the NGC, said, "they would certainly be up there among the winners!" She was so impressed with Freddy's Glosters and realizing he was a novice, asked him where his birds came from. With pride in his voice he replied, "from Don Perez and The House of Crests!"

I must say, it gives The House of Crests great pride when newcomers acquire representatives of my line, follow my NINE STEPS then compete against the best in North America and reign victorious! The successes they achieve insures me that the HOC line will live on!

At show after show which I visit, I get the same question thrown at me time and time again; "Don, did you show anything?"

I always reply, "that I did not show and prefer not to show as I have nothing I need to prove that is not being proven by exhibitors everywhere who have received Glosters from me then exhibit their offspring and win! That, my friends in the fancy, is what gives me the greatest of pleasures; to see my line continue to prove itself as it has for over 30 years!! (My first victory with a Gloster and a Yorkshire was at the 1976 NIROC Annual Show! Read more about my continual wins in the 'Winner's Circle Episode' articles found toward the bottom of this page.)

Freddy, keep up the great work and allow The House of Crests Champion Line of Glosters to continue to serve you in "your quest to raise the best" in your birdroom!! I'm very proud of your achievements and congratulate you, your family and The Casa Canary!!

Check out some of Freddy's Glosters by clicking on each thumbnail below to enlarge it then click the back arrow on your browser bar to then view another winning Gloster of his:

WOW! Freddy's Glosters served him well! Check out the "hardware"!

Please visit Wilfredo "Freddy" Pineda's Casa Canary by clicking on the image below:

A GOOD FRIEND...

...sent me a wonderful blessing in the form of a lovely movie. I would like at this time to share that blessing with every single canary-loving person who visits this website. Simply turn up your speakers and click on the words or image below:

A Blessing Just For You

HAVE YOU BEEN DOING YOUR PART TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY EVERYDAY?

We should all do our part to preserve our planet, Earth, not just on Earth Day but everyday we are lucky enough to live here! My niece, Sandra sent me an e-mail. She wanted to share a conversation she had with her 4-year-old daughter, Olivia (The lovely young lady in the photo below). Here it is in its entirety:

This is too sweet not to share...

Olivia and I were in bed last night and we were saying our prayers. She heard me thanking God for things and asked if she could, but I had to do it for her. I said OK. So she whispered to me to thank God for letting me have her, then she asked me to thank God for having Cameron and Sofia in my belly. Then she asked me to thank God for the rain and trees.

I thought, wow, I didn't think she even understood all that but I was impressed.

Then we went to bed and when we woke up in the morning she told me she wanted to thank God for one more thing and I said, sure, what? And she said, I want you to thank God for making the world.

I mean how could you not smile!

Sandra

It's amazing what comes out of the mouths of children! Let's please, do our part to make sure Olivia and young children everywhere have a great green Earth to enjoy with her grandchildren and so on and so on! Our Creator provided us this beautiful Earth and every living creature and plant in it, let's keep it beautiful for our children's children's children and beyond!

Below are three clips each representing a different video featuring the works of the artist, Ilana Yahav. These clips certainly can be considered part of our continued awareness of Earth Day which should also include World Peace! Please click on the Baby Sandy DVD to visit Ilana's SAND FANTASY website and purchase what is certainly a magnificent DVD! Enjoy the clips and have a wonderful Earth Day now and always!

Just turn up the volume on your speakers and click on each of the drawings then wait for them to download to see the video clip.

Just Imagine Clip Let's Get together Clip Baby Sandy Clip Baby Sandy DVD

My Godchild, Olivia and I. What a beauty she is! Pay no attention to the man in front of the curtain!

NATIONAL BIRD DESIGNS, INC. INFORMATION

My good friend, Kimberly is shown here holding and promoting our probiotic at the National Cage Bird Show held in Schaumburg, Illinois. There was plenty of this high-quality probiotic for sale direct from the NBD deep freezers. It was amazing just how many fanciers out there have become more and more educated about being 'proactive' with their birds! Visit the National Bird Designs, Inc. website and learn ABOUT US, MISSION STATEMENT and NEWS & EVENTS! There is also a Legal Notice & Disclaimer Page as well as a Testimonials & Endorsement Page on this site!

"PMS" PREMATURE MORTALITY SYNDROME ARTICLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH!

An article that has appeared in the Border Convention Journal in the United Kingdom and in EL Canario Magazine in Argentina, titled, "PMS" PREMATURE MORTALITY SYNDROME is available for you to read in English as well as in Spanish.

Check them all out by clicking on the NBD, Inc. logo below:

NATIONAL CAGE BIRD SHOW CLUB - THE SHOW OF SHOWS!! JOIN TODAY!!

If your plan is to exhibit Glosters (and most all other birds) on the National level and you want to see the finest "traveling bird show" in North America, you must join and exhibit at the NATIONAL CAGE BIRD SHOW!

The 2007 NATIONAL CAGE BIRD EXHIBITION was indeed a huge success! The NCBS Board and its membership-in-attendance along with the many members and Board of the Greater Chicago Cage Bird Club produced a fantastic event.

You must be a current NCBS member in order to exhibit at this event. To be awarded the top award in each of the canary divisions, your canary must be bred and banded by you. The 2008 National Cage Bird Show will be held in Lansing, Michigan. Don't miss this event!! As it has always been said, the National is indeed your "Show of Shows"! Come join the celebration! In fact, join this national organization!

Please support this fine organization as well as its Commercial Sponsors!

Click below and enter the 'Welcome Gate' for all the 2008 Show details and more:

The Division winners names can be found on the National Cage Bird Show website. Access it by clicking: 2006 NCBS HIGGINS WINNERS. Photos are on their site, as well as the United Gloster Breeders site. Please visit these sites often for more info.

It's never too late to join the UNITED GLOSTER BREEDERS CLUB!!

Please join and support this fine North American organization dedicated to the Gloster! Just click below to enter this educational and informative site and while you're there, don't forget to join and order your Gloster leg bands:

UNITED GLOSTER BREEDERS CLUB is the only authorized site featuring my first article on preparing Glosters for the show arena. If you want to go directly to that article, simply click on its title below:

HOW TO GIVE YOUR GLOSTERS THE EDGE ON THE SHOWBENCH

A presentation of the top Gloster Division winners at the 2006 NATIONAL CAGE BIRD EXHIBITION can be found here! Check out the best Glosters in North America according the Gloster Division Judge. This is the only place on the World Wide Web where you can find this presentation

GREATER CHICAGO CAGE BIRD CLUB one of the finest bird clubs in the Midwest!! Do not delay, join today!!!

On the Chicagoland local level, this is indeed the organization you must join if you love birds and want to support the bird fancy! Check it out by clicking below:

THE NIROC (NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF RED ORANGE CANARIES) WEB PAGE IS UP AND RUNNING!

Please click on the logo below to go to the Official NIROC Web Page and find out what the latest is and find out who were the 2007 Annual Exhibition Winners!

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BIRDS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has developed a CD and a Video DVD containing valuable information on Biosecurity for the Birds . I encourage everyone visiting my site to visit their site and see how you may obtain one or learn more about this effort on "bird biosecurity!" Please help to spread the word on how to keep ALL birds safe and healthy, not just here in America but everywhere! Help promote this important campaign by clicking on the icon above or below! Thank you for your kind support!!

VIEW THE GENETICS AND RNAi SEGMENT THAT APPEARED ON PBS LAST JULY

Transcript available as well to use as a great bird discussion topic at an upcoming club meeting that would be of interest to ALL bird breeders!

PBS WTTW Channel 11 TV ran a regular program on the 26th of July named, NOVA which had a segment devoted to Genetics and more exactly, RNAi. Learn how RNAi is being researched in the hope they may hold the answer in possibly trying to cure diseases with gene replacement or manipulation.

One of the reasons I wanted to write about genetics with our canaries was for us to understand that when we pair our birds, we need to focus attention to preventing the passing on of those genes that may promote the proliferation of disease that may be inherent in our birds already.

This segment will give you an idea of just what is involved when scientists experiment with advanced methods in genetics.

Click on the petunia below to learn more:

SPEAKING OF GENETICS, HAVE YOU READ THESE THREE PAGES ON GENETICS AND JUDGING YET?

The House of Crests is pleased to announce that there are three new pages in the Gallery of Articles! The first two pages contain the original articles that appeared in the September and November, 1984 issues of AMERICAN CAGE-BIRD MAGAZINE, written by Claudia Perez called, LAWS OF INHERITANCE - Part 1 & Part 2.

The third new page contains an original article that also appeared in the November, 1984 issue of AMERICAN CAGE-BIRD MAGAZINE written by yours truly called, HERE COME THE JUDGE! There is also a sample classified advertisement page showing what adverts looked like 20-plus years ago! To access those articles, please scroll down to the bottom of this page.

"YOUR MASTER PLAN" - PART ONE & PART TWO ARTICLE

This is a two-part article on how to evaluate your youngsters with ease and purpose! It is also an article on the best way to pair your Glosters in the coming years with success as the end result! Anytime is always the right time to evaluate your Glosters! Study this two-part article and start right now!

Click on My Sweet Baby Gloster Corona to go to Part One now!

THE DEMAND CONTINUES TO BE HUGE!

Yes, huge! In fact, the amount of requests I've received has been amazing. Fanciers worldwide have been asking when the page on how to build the English-Style, box-type, canary breeding cages I use in The House of Crests would appear on this site! I'm pleased to inform you that it's finally ready for viewing! How To Build a Breeding Cage - Part One can be accessed by clicking on the carpenter below:

SPEAKING OF HUGE!!

Now these are huge and I mean really huge files! The first two thumbnails are just a couple of the many photos taken on Saturday the 6th of May at The Chicago Botanical Garden. The second two are but a small sampling of shots taken a couple of days later of "Cloud Gate" affectionately known as 'The Electric Kidney Bean' or just 'The Bean' and designed by artist, Anish Kapoor. "Cloud Gate" is one of the highlights of Millennium Park in Chicago. Millennium Park is located just north of Grant park and south of The Prudential Building. I snapped these photos along with other shoreline shots from the 32nd floor of The 150 North Michigan Avenue building across the street from the Park. More photos to follow when time permits!

Again, these thumbnails will take a while to open as they are indeed huge! Even when they open, some of you, depending upon your browser will be able to click on the icon in the lower right-hand corner to enlarge the image even more! Go ahead, click on one of these four photos to enlarge it then click on the 'back arrow' to return to this page!

MASTER CRAFTSMAN, ERNIE COBB HAS HIS OWN INTERNET PAGE!

My good friend and Master Craftsman, Ernie Cobb, impressed me so at the National Cage Bird Show, it was decided then and there that a page on this site be dedicated to his craftsmanship! Ernie had a booth beside mine at the National Cage Bird Show and I'd watch in amazement as he built a Frill show cage then a Yorkshire show cage. In fact, he sold everything he brought to the event including the two cages he built there!! He had several show cages on hand which indeed displayed nothing but the best in master craftsmanship. I could not believe the countless number of fanciers who came up to his booth to chat with him and watch him solder up the wire and purchase examples of his 'artwork'!

A full series of photos of Ernie building a Yorkshire show cage and the final results can be found on this page dedicated to Ernie and his craftsmanship!

Click on the photo to go directly to that page now!

PERRY'S WINNOWING MACHINE!!

My good friend, Perry Skiffington, a new American Singer breeder located in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada recently received his new handmade winnowing machine. A winnowing machine is used in some bird rooms in order to save money by separating seed from husks and other debris that may be in the seed. Below are four photos of his device:

For those of you who want to make one using PVC piping, you can visit this site for instructions on making your own device:

Please know that while I have added these images and link to my site, and the fact that I may advocate the use of a winnowing machine to clean dusty, dirty newly-purchased seeds or freshly-harvested seed you may collect in the fields on your own like the various thistles and teazle, I do not recommend one use the device to 'clean' or 're-use' seeds that one collects in birdroom cages, seed hoppers or the floor of flight cages or the birdroom.

Re-cycling seed in this manner is one sure way of spreading any virus by cross-contamination of seed and feeding it from one bird to another. Fecal matter of any sort that may come in contact with seeds should not then be fed to others in a birdroom. I would not tolerate any transfer of disease in this manner in my room. This would be as bad as rotating drinkers from cage to cage without having properly disinfected and washed them first.

I know there are some of you who may have done this year in and year out in your lifetimes and you've been lucky that nothing ever happened that you may have been quick enough to attribute to this method of contamination or spreading of disease.

However in these times of the spread of Avian Influenza (AI), Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) and other diseases, unless you have a totally and completely closed room (no birds or bird people other than yourself in or out) and do not attend bird marts, bird fairs, bird shows or bird feed stores you might get away with seed recycling but personally I would not recommend it.

GEOFF WALKER & DON PEREZ IN 1980!!

Someone wrote me privately asking when author and C.O.M. Judge, Geoff Walker and I first met. He and I judged canaries in Texas in the mid-late 80's some years back. He did the Colorbred and I did the Type Canaries. But it was really in 1980 when I first met Geoff in Miami, Florida where he had judged Colorbred and I the Type Canaries. Here are three photos for your review of how young manly men looked back then! I was 30 years of age but have no idea how young Geoff was then. I also have no clue as to how old Ignacio Perea is. His company, Higgins, is the main sponsor of the National Cage Bird Show.

Click on each thumbnail image to enlarge it then click on the 'back' arrow to return to this page.

Geoff & Don Geoff & A Winner Ignacio Perea, Geoff Walker & Don Perez

ARE YOUR CANARIES GETTING INTO CONDITION?

THE HOUSE OF CREST 2008 DIET PLAN was recently updated on January 21st, 2008 and there are some changes that you just might want to check out if you'd like to get your canaries into prime breeding condition and keep them healthy year 'round! On this page you will find out what foods are fed to keep the Glosters in The House in top condition and lists the fine sources for those products considered most important in keeping these canaries in prime condition year after year.

Learn more now by clicking on the professor below:

ARE YOU PULLING YOUR EGGS?

What!?!

Yes, do you pull your canary eggs?

If so, where do you put them for safekeeping until you put them under the hens?

I use a wooden shadowbox for knick-knacks (also spelled, nic-nacs which were creations from the mid-century period of the 1950s to the 1970s) which holds the eggs of up to 24 hens at a time. I purchased mine for $12.00 from a local Wal-Mart store. I cut up a manila file folder into strips to slide down into some Aspen-chip bedding material which supports the eggs until I decide when to place them under the hens. I can then use a superfine Sharpie marker to write down the cock and hen band number and the date the first egg was laid and a similar manila 'chip' is attached to the cage housing the hen so each day I know where to go to begin my daily 'egg-collecting'!

The next three thumbnails are images of my nest-base-units, nesting material racks and nesting material which is washed and shredded natural jute

Click on the thumbnails below to get a larger view of the images. Once the image downloads, pass your curser on the image itself and you will find a small image in the lower right-hand corner which if clicked on will open the image even larger.

EVOLUTION?

ARE BIRDS AND DINOSAURS RELATED?

LEARN ABOUT SUE AT CHICAGO'S FIELD MUSEUM

They say that dinosaurs like Sue were indeed "our very first birds"! What do you think?

Click on each of the photos above to enlarge them. Then use the back arrow on your browser toolbar to come back to this site.

On May 17, 2000 The Field Museum unveiled Sue, the largest, most complete, and best preserved T. rex fossil yet discovered.
The skeleton on display is the real thing. Not a plastic model or a plaster cast. Not a patchwork or composite of bones from different specimens. Sue stands 13 feet high at the hips and 42 feet long from head to tail. One of the only pieces of Sue that is not mounted is her 5-foot-long skull, which is too heavy to be placed on the steel armature that holds together her more than 200 fossilized bones. In its place, the Museum has installed a cast replica. Sue’s real skull is on display in an exhibit on the second-floor balcony overlooking Stanley Field Hall.
Learn what's new with Sue Continue >>

SPEAKING OF SIZE...

IS SIZE REALLY AN ISSUE WITH GLOSTERS?

Visit the following very unique website to read this most interesting article on a very controversial issue on what exactly is the right size of a Gloster along with loads of other valuable information on canaries by clicking on the banner below:

THE HOUSE OF CRESTS 2005 STABLE OF STARS

Is filled with photos of some of the best HOC 2004 Gloster youngsters, the birdroom, the bonsai and The 2005 Stable of Stars. This page is so huge, that I must ask that you be patient, as it will take a while to download!!

"Go ahead, make my day!"

Click on the Gloster Consort to go to that page now!

This spring remember to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden and lose yourself in an oasis of beautiful springtime flowers. Flowering bulbs, including narcissus, tulips and grape hyacinth, are at their peak at that time. Crabapples and azaleas will be showing color and waiting to burst open as soon as the weather warms up. Perennials including bleeding hearts, Virginia bluebells and Siberian bugloss will be in full bloom. McDonald Woods is carpeted with delicate native wildflowers, including trilliums, spring cress, toothwort, buttercups and the showy yellow marsh marigolds. Fantastic color combinations of annuals and bulbs in raised beds can be enjoyed in the Sensory Garden and many other areas. Catch spring fever at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Admission is free. No pets are allowed. Parking fees apply

1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022
The Chicago Botanic Garden is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

THE GALLERY OF FLORAL STARS

Check out some photos I've taken at the world-famous Chicago Botanic Garden and other places in a page aptly named, The Gallery of Floral Stars! This page has some huge files which will take a while to download but certainly worth viewing!!

Click on this rose to access that page.

HAVE YOU VISITED MY GOOD FRIEND, TONY RUIZ'S WEBSITE LATELY?

The 2 photos above are of my good friend, Champion Yorkshire Canary breeder, Tony Ruiz and I in The House Of Crests.

Tony and I in his birdroom viewing some fine show specimens last year. Click on the photo above to go directly to his fantastic website!

NINE STEPS TO SUCCESS ARTICLE IS ALSO A PDF FILE!

An Adobe® Acrobat PDF file of the article, NINE STEPS TO SUCCESS has been added to the page by the same name. This article may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of this page and clicking on it. The PDF file can be opened immediately if you have Adobe® Reader® installed on your computer by clicking on the little magazine cover. If you do not have this software, you may download it free on this same page. This will allow you to view the article and print it for later reading off the Internet! The Canary & Finch Journal magazine cover as well as the original Kellogg Seed endorsement ad are also in this file for printing and framing should you desire to do so!

Click on the image below to go directly to that page.

PLEASE COME BACK!

Whether this is your first visit to this site or you are a frequent visitor, welcome! Begin your tour of The House of Crests by clicking on the above Gloster photos or by scrolling through this Home Page and then selecting one of the many exciting pages of this site dedicated to the Gloster Fancy Canary! The House Of Crests continues to be the premier website with the largest and most concise collection of what I would like to think, are some of the finest examples of Glosters on the planet today!

Another "old dinosaur" says,

"Please come back and visit often as this site is continually being updated and revised!"

Many new links have been added to The Gallery Of Links Page. New banners have been added to The Banners & Awards Page as well, so please, take the time to visit those pages and please visit those sites listed. Please note that if you are accessing the Internet using dial-up, many of the pages on this site will take a while to download. I can assure you however, that the wait is indeed worth your while! Note: If you would like your site reviewed for insertion, please e-mail me.

MORE NEWS & TIPS!

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH AVI-CULTURE^®? IT'S A LIVE, AVIAN-SPECIFIC PROBIOTIC?

Click on the logo below for full details about AVI-CULTURE^®

If you are interested in a distributorship of this product, please click below!!

E-MAIL

OR CALL:
PHONE: 847-338-5660

STUDY THE FEATHER OF YOUR GLOSTERS! In order to continually succeed with Glosters one MUST understand feather texture and use proper specimens in their birdroom. Here are some fine examples for your study purposes. Learn a little about long and short feather right here and now. Either click the underlined text above now or scroll down this page to continue reading and visit that page later by clicking the button toward the bottom of this page.

Click here to visit THE GALLERY OF STARS to try out The Viewer! This is another way to be able to enlarge any of the Gloster photos. This was added due to the tremendous amount of pirating of photos from this site and other sites like mine without regard to copyright infringements.

It is my hope that you enjoy all the continual updates to what I like to call, "The Ultimate Gloster Site!" This site is constantly updated with all sorts of applets, music and images to allow you, the fancier, to be introduced to the Gloster with an educated mind, then hopefully, decide to raise Glosters! The Ultimate Canary deserves a site such as this and it is my hope that you will return time and time again to view new photos and information to assist you in raising and/or developing or perfecting your own line of Glosters. It is my hope that it will help to guide you on your own quest, whatever that quest may be! If there are any questions or any items you'd like answered or displayed on this site, you need only send me an e-mail or call me at: 847-338-5660. I'd love to hear from you!

Merely scroll down this page to view all linked pages of articles, photos, ideas and more that may be of interest to the novice and seasoned fancier.

Again, welcome to my "House" and may your visit be pleasant!

Thanks for visiting! You are visitor number:

Don Perez

Any questions, ideas, comments or link info, please feel free to send me by e-mail by clicking the icon below:

THE HOUSE OF CRESTS is located in Bloomingdale, Illinois, United States of America, minutes from O'Hare International Airport. During certain times of the year, fanciers are cordially invited to visit THE HOUSE OF CRESTS with an advance appointment.

Feel free to call: 847-338-5660, should you have any questions.

DONALD PEREZ