Ten Great Birding Locations in Florida.
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After 28 years serving the wild bird feeding industry, Carolyn Looker has turned over the business operations of her family-owned enterprise to the care of Songbird Essentials. Click here for more.
Celestron has recently introduced their new line of Granite binoculars. Here is what one of our birding friends has to say about these new binoculars.
Are you using QR codes on your ads and packaging? Perhaps you should. Click here for more information.
Glen Echo, Maryland: The Wild Bird Centers of America (www.wildbird.com) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeff Young as Director of Franchise Development. Young has served the franchising industry for over 30 years, including senior positions with the General Nutrition Company (GNC) and Long John Silvers Seafood Shoppes, followed by many years as a franchise consultant. He has recently published articles in Franchise Entrepreneur and Canadian Business Franchise magazines. Originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area, Young and his family will reside in a suburb of the Washington, DC area.
George Petrides, Jr., Chief Executive Officer commented: "Our company is excited and honored to work with Jeff Young to help us broaden key services and develop new programs for our franchisees and partners as we chart our course into the next decade."
The Wild Bird Centers of America is a national franchise system supporting wild bird nature specialty retail stores throughout the United States and Canada.
Contact: George Petrides, Jr. at (301) 841-8403 or
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.
Dave Nylen, president of Woodlink, has announced that his company has merged with Kay Home Products of Antioch, IL.
Woodlink is a well-known manufacturer of quality bird feeders and houses, hardware, accessories, and the very popular Going Greent line of recycled plastic products under the Woodlink and Audubon brands. Kay is a national manufacturer of barbeque grills, camping equipment and various other outdoor products including Heritage brand metal squirrel-resistant bird feeders and Artline hummingbird feeders and nectar.
“We’re very excited about the blending of our two businesses,” said Nylen. “This merger makes us one of the largest companies in the birding category with a combined 390,000 square feet of domestic manufacturing and warehouse space.
“We see tremendous positives in teaming up with Woodlink,” said Jack Murray, CEO of Kay Home Products. “Our product lines complement each other and Woodlink’s reputation for innovative, high quality products and their outstanding customer service positions us to build our business more aggressively through our expanded capabilities.”
Financial details have not been made public, as both companies are privately held.
Contact Woodlink’s Vice President of marketing Rick Swalwell
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for further details.
KNOWLTON, QUEBEC (May 5, 2011) Brome Bird Care, manufacturer of Squirrel Buster squirrel proof wild bird feeders, today announced the promotion of Sherri Bailey as President of the company. She will head all of Brome Bird Care’s activities in North America, the UK, the European Union, and China.
"Sherri has been a key part of our success, and this promotion will allow Brome Bird Care to fully benefit from her knowledge and experience” said Paul L. Coté, former president and current CEO of the company.
Ms. Bailey joined the company in 2006 as General Manager. Her primary responsibility has been overseeing the production and logistics functions for the company.
Founded in 1986, Brome Bird Care Inc. is the leading manufacturer of weight activated squirrel proof wild bird feeders.
We have just learned that a large wind power project in North Dakota has been cancelled.
The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) said Xcel Energy Inc. has pulled the plug on a 150-megawatt, $400 million wind farm in the southeastern part of the state.
It isn’t clear if the decision was influenced by the potential increase in bird deaths, but the possibility remains that the project could simply be moved to a different location and re-started. There is a certainty, however, that this and other similar projects will become reality at some time by 2030 due to the government’s edict that 12% of the nation’s electric power come from renewable resources such as wind or solar. What’s not known at this point is where the build-out is likely to occur, and whether the corporations involved will make the effort to consult conservation groups, including ABC, during the planning stage before construction begins.
ABC vice president Mike Parr said other locations which present less threat to birds and other wildlife may still be viable and the conservation community would welcome the opportunity to sit at the same table with the power companies to come up with a plan that will benefit both sides.
Check www.abcbirds.org for more details.
For those with a creative intuition the film RIO can bring forth a gusher of ideas for promoting your store, in tune with what will surely be one of the great animated feature films this year. Rio is the story of a very rare Spix Macaw named Blu (only 85 are known to exist in the world, none wild) that was raised in captivity in the USA. He was so well treated by his owner that he never had a need to fly, and so he never learned. That only became an issue when his owner decided to take Blu to South America, the land of his birth, to meet another Macaw named Jewel.
The movie takes some rather unpredictable twists, creating a story that will capture the heart of anyone who sees it, and will become a very interesting topic of conversation in your store. If you want to keep up with your customers you need to know a bit of the background, so click here to learn more:
This year started off strong for those in the nature business, and one of the real spark plugs behind it seems to be the new Birding and Nature Products section at the gift show at AmericasMart in Atlanta. This was a new feature at AmericasMart this year, inspired by the relocation of the BWA Show to Philadelphia, and it instantly became the new national headquarters for the birding industry. The intent by the show’s management was to create a center where all those who sell nature products can gather to be in the middle of an industry segment that’s growing quickly. More and more stores are adding these products to their merchandise mix because that’s where consumer interest is heading, and a niche market needs a place where retailers can congregate to improve their knowledge and update their inventory.
This being a first-time addition to AmericasMart, many of their regular buyers came through to see who the new players are and what they sell. It makes sense to add a product segment like this to a larger event because it introduces thousands more retailers to this market, and hundreds of new suppliers to a market they might not otherwise meet. And the atmosphere on the temporary exhibit floors and the permanent showrooms is nicely modulated to make visitors feel comfortable. Lots of areas to sit and relax for a bit, and plenty of food options are always well received by the aisle-walkers.
We wandered the aisles for a few days and heard the comment “This is just like the old days at the G.I.C.C.” from quite a few exhibitors. Retailers, too, liked the new set-up and spent a lot of time reinforcing old business relationships and making lots of new connections. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight we can see a couple of ideas that could make it better next time, and AmericasMart, being the biggest fish in the pond, is usually the first to pick up the vibes and make changes before the industry knows changes are needed.
The Birding and Nature Products section will be improved for the July show with a larger selection of goods available and an increased focus on educational product knowledge and store management seminars.
In the latest issue of the magazine, Ray David opened the door for questions. Charlotte of Nature's Barn in Lithopolis, Ohio wants to know:
Q. When do the Baltimore Orioles return to Ohio? I know that feeders should be out prior to their return.
A. Our birding guru at Birdzilla.com says you can expect your Baltimore Orioles to return around mid-April. They'll be looking for insects and fruit when they get there.
You can also expect the unfeathered Orioles in Cleveland for a 3-game series just about the same time, April 15 through 17, looking for hot dogs and beer and a shot at the pennant. But that's another issue altogether.
Ray David
The APLD Awards Committee and Staff are excited to announce that the 2011 International Landscape Design Awards entry packet is now available!
Learn about Bill Healy's approach to landscaping.
Q: What do you give a sick bird?
A: Tweetment.
Click here for a little more humor, and we use the word loosely.
Bird watching is popular, and can be very competitive, according to this story on the CBS Evening News Web site.
Nappanee, Indiana – Hilltop Specialties LLC of Nappanee, Indiana, has acquired Stonewood Manufacturing, an innovator in the manufacture of bird feeders and houses from 100 percent recycled plastic.
Hilltop, a leading manufacturer of premium aluminum purple martin houses and accessories, will implement Stonewood’s line of products into its existing operation. Mel Lehman, owner, said all products will carry Hilltop’s dealer guarantee that if any item does not sell it may be returned.
Stonewood made birding products for 14 years, many of the designs created by owner Carol Spencer, who has retired, giving Hilltop the opportunity to expand.
The Stonewood line of recycled birding products includes hopper, fly-thru and tray feeders, as well as bluebird and wren houses made of the same recycled material. All the products have a lifetime guarantee.
Hilltop Specialties has manufactured purple martin products since 2002, when the company purchased the Trendsetter design. Trendsetter aluminum houses are noted for classic birdhouse architecture, solid construction, and design elements to promote maximum pair occupancy while keeping adult and baby birds safe from weather and predators.
Hilltop has continued to design new lines of purple martin houses and gourd systems, such as Sunset aluminum houses and gourds racks and Cedar Suite wooden house, and plans to incorporate recycled plastic into purple martin houses and accessories.
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