Wild Bird Centers: Research Resource

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Meet Our Owners

Long-time customers of the Akron, Ohio Wild Bird Center, Bob & Carol knew they had found what they wanted to do. Coming from years of retail experience in the camera business, Bob & Carol started their store in February 2007 in Hudson, Ohio. They have been growing their business successfully ever since. They say:

“When the opportunity arose to open our own store, we decided to combine our love of birds with a business in order to provide the best quality product to enhance enjoyment of the bird feeding hobby for our community. Support from Home Office has been greatly appreciated and they help us with any issues that arise and are readily available to help us grow our business, from marketing to the “nuts and bolts”. Ultimately, one of the best parts of owning our store is that we have great customers who share our passion for feeding and watching our beautiful wild birds!”

Young Birder's Classroom

Most Wild Bird Center stores operate as a "retail nature center" with active community education programs that often involve children and schools. Some stores assist schools with setting up a "bird garden" in a school yard; work with science teachers to present programs such as:

Bird House Building Workshop: Before they build their bird houses, children learn about bird nesting habits and how bird houses can meet their needs. For couts, building bird or bat houses can be a fun way to meet badge requirements. These workshops are also enjoyed by children in environmental clubs or at summer camps, and by families gathered for community events.

"Birds of Our Neighborhood": This program is ideal for classroom situations. Many teachers invite Wild Bird Center educators back year after year to teach their students about birds. They've found that our two-part program (combining presentation and application) fosters an immediate enthusiasm for birds, and an enduring sense of connection with the natural world. The program begins with a 20-30 minute presentation involving puppets, bird calls, color pictures and audio tapes. We teach children to identify common area birds, and to apprciate special feeding and nesting habits.. To apply what they have learned, children observe birds at a feeder outside their classroom. By referring to charts and posters, they identify feeder visitors and learn to recognize common patterns of behavior.

Kids are quickly inspired when learning more about wild birds in their neighborhood and Wild Bird Center owners are especially keen to inspire this next generation of wild bird watchers and feeders.

As a key sponsor of "Project Feederwatch" through Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology, Wild Bird Center stores also maintain a supply of colorful posters with pictures and descriptions of wild birds most commonly seen at feeders during the winter season. There is a poster for "Eastern Birds" and "Western Birds" to help youngsters identify and track the birds they see at their feeders at home with parents or at school with their teachers.