September 2008
'A Dark and Stormy Night'
How I'm Weathering the Economy
The presidential race will be over soon. Without declaring a position, I cannot wait.
As all sides jockey for advantage, the current state of affairs is blasted. Doom and gloom are forecasted each step of the way. Added to this rhetoric is a very real contraction in the economy.
$82 to fill up the gas tank. Ouch! I have never paid this much to fill up the tank in my life. The news headlines of mortgage troubles, banks teetering on the edge and a credit crunch have my head swimming.
Motif - September 2008
Top of Pecking Order
These birds herald sales of suet and specialty feeders
Backyard Habitat - Sept. 2008
Back from the Brink
Watching the resurrection of a majestic species
I consider myself a lucky man. For more than 20 years I have been making a living at photographing wildlife, writing books and leading birding tours.
I can recall many of the trips I led in the early and mid ’80s when I was first starting to see iconic bird species such as Loons, Osprey and Bald Eagles. I would pack up a van full of eager birdwatchers, with binoculars slung around their necks, and head out with great anticipation to see if we could find some Bald Eagles.
Editor's Note
Think Again
Hank Weber may be the Barak Obama of the wild bird industry.
Hank owns a franchise store north of New York City and has been writing for the magazine for several years now.
But his article this month on a nature store down the road imagines something you don’t hear about often: he found a way to partner with a competitor rather than try to squash it.
It’s bi-partisan retailing. Across-the-aisle merchandising. The audacity of collaboration.
Publisher’s note
We’ve received a number of comments from subscribers regarding the on-line version of our June issue in place of the regular mailed issue, all of them positive. For that we thank you. If you don’t tell us about your interests and concerns, we won’t know what they are. Please don’t be shy.
Bird Meets Garden
How one couple dared to put them together
Some might call it genius. Andy and Margaret Covell turned common birding knowledge into a cash-cow business that married gardening and birding supplies.
The result is known to many New England residents as The Bird House Garden Center, a one-stop shop for people who want to attract a symphony of their feathered friends with bird-loving shrubs, trees and flowers.
"The relationship between birds and plants is codependent," Andy Covell said. "Research told us that there was a market for a store like this. It looks like we were right."
The Beginning
8 Rules for Choosing the Best Binoculars
Birders come in all shapes, sizes. Optics must, too
With more than 20 major optics companies – plus a host of lesser-known brands – competing for your store space, how do you decide which models to stock?
Each company offers a dozen or more different models. Retail prices range from under $50 to well over $1,000. It is not easy for a retailer to select the best from the hundreds of different models available.
How Green is Your Nature Business?
Go green, cut costs, build your brand
As an owner of a nature-based business, I am challenged each day to operate my company with environmental and social responsibility. There has been a surge of information about becoming "green." But what does that mean? Are there various shades of green businesses?
Killer Windows
Our homes are often scenes of quiet carnage. Every day, thousands of birds mistake a reflection for a flyway, or they take off fast from a feeder and slam into a window. This happens both with migrants and birds familiar with a backyard.
Birds and windows simply don’t mix: put a flying bird up against a sheet of glass and the glass wins, every time. Estimates range from hundreds of millions to a billion or more window kills a year in this country. One out of every two birds dies after hitting a window. Some that fly away later succumb to injuries.
Shared Seed Sales
“Good idea,” I thought, complimenting myself on another bright idea for attracting more customers.
Greenburgh Nature Center, a 33-acre, town-operated nature center, is less than a quarter mile from my newly opened store.
Surviving a Down Economy
For months economists and politicians debated whether the current economic conditions met the technical definition of a recession.
In the meantime, seed prices soared. Products, such as corn and mealworms, were in short supply. The cost of copper, steel and other metals used in feeders doubled. Transportation costs skyrocketed. And that’s just the cost side of the business equation.
Birding Business Blog
Visit our industry news blog for the latest information on the birding feeding industry.
Back in the News
The world changed since our last printed issue, before summer, and birding is back in the news.
Before the housing crisis, and before oil prices spiked to unthinkable levels, the wild bird feeding trend seemed to have crested.
Hot-hot-hot two years ago. But how long could we sustain?
Birdwatch Flexes Show Hours
Want to pack more into your Atlanta trip this January?
You will enjoy the new schedule for Birdwatch America. The leading trade show for outdoor nature products, with a focus on birding, will run Friday and Saturday this year
And retail seminars will run during the show, rather than requiring retailers to travel a day early to attend sessions before Birdwatch exhibits open.
Mealworm Shortage
You’re not alone. Most of the country – including reptile owners, wildlife rehabbers and hardcore bluebird trail monitors – are having a tough time finding live mealworms.
What happened? “It is because many of the larger growers had crop failures this spring and there is just not enough to go around now,” says Rita Smith of New York Worms, an online retailer. She did not answer when asked to clarify what caused the crop failure with the larger growers.
Sunflower Outlook: Iffy
Prices for just about everything appear to be growing faster than weeds sprouting from cheap bird seed.
So do not expect that your customers will get a break on sunflower seeds, just about the most popular in the business.
"New crop prices for oil and confection sunflowers remain at historically high levels," Larry Kleingartner, executive director of the National Sunflower Association, said in his weekly press release
Droll Yankees
Droll Yankees: Makers of the world’s best bird feeders and more since 1969. Offering a full line of quality bird feeders, accessories, nest boxes and a complete pole system. Home of the Yankee Family of squirrel-proof bird feeders, Make A World of Difference campaign and the Find-a-Retailer store locater program.
All of our products are proudly made and assembled in the USA. Lifetime warranty against squirrel damage, legendary customer service and satisfaction.
Bird-X Revamps Website
If you’re interested in controlling birds responsibly, you’ll find this relaunch Web site helpful.
At bird-x.com, you’ll find resources on bird and animal control, including educational and practical information, links to articles and customer testimonials as well as species-specific control methods.
"We wanted to create a Web site that functions as more than just an online store," says Mona Zemsky, marketing manager for the company.
The site offers news and case histories to educate readers.
News Bits archives
GCPS has been Sold
Garden Center Product Source and its three sister trade publications have been sold to GIE Media.
Soda Bottle Watering Well
Can you believe that Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour?
Since 1994, McNaughton Inc. has been thinking green and promoting the re-use of plastic soda and water bottles by turning them into inexpensive bird feeders.
The Paper Birdhouse
Some product introductions arrive with a thud. Others with buzz.
This one has generated a hive of buzzing.
GreenBird LLC’s new paper birdhouse is designed to promote conservation and bird education. Completely biodegradable, the birdhouse is made from a special three-layer laminate of recycled paper with a water-resistant coating. The houses are designed for one nesting season. At the end of the season, you simply toss the house in a compost bin for use in next year’s garden. Each house comes with a biodegradable cotton strap for ease of hanging.
Peace and Advice
We are not biased and will not cave to the public relations enticements of any company out there. No siree. But you can’t blame us for passing along the latest introductions from the entertaining shirt maker Earth Sun Moon.
Young Birder's Guide
One of the hottest books hitting shelves this year is The Young Birder’s Guide for eastern North America by Bill Thompson III, editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest.
Thompson used his kids and his daughter’s fourth grade class for input on what kind of bird guide they would like. The result is a book of 200 common species with information on habitat, “wow” facts on bird species, photos and range maps. Julie Zickefoose, nationally known wildlife expert and Thompson’s wife, contributed illustrations.
