Birds of a feather

For some gardening enthusiasts, it’s not enough to simply cultivate decorative or edible plants. Many gardeners also take time to develop relationships with the feathered friends that visit their homes.

With these types of gardeners in mind, several independent garden centers have invested in large quantities of bird seed, feeders and other inventory for avid birders. By offering a balance of traditional gardening supplies and specialized bird-attracting stock, these businesses are appealing to two closely-connected hobbies among consumers.

At Rock Valley Garden Center in Rockford, Ill., birding is something of a forte. The category accounts for 37 percent of sales and tops all others at the store. Rock Valley sells a whopping 5 tons of birdseed a week, which includes its private label brand. Sacks of birdseed fill storage containers and in-ground, post-mounted feeders are a hot ticket item. David Ott, president of Rock Valley, says the company has focused heavily on providing quality birding products since more than 30 years ago, when a new supply of birdseed, an unorthodox item for garden centers at the time, became a hit with customers.

“The way I heard the story, there was a salesperson who came in selling bird feed and asked if they could put it in consignment,” Ott says. “It started out as about 15 bags, and they sold almost immediately. The second time around went so well, they came back, brought some more, and after that they started buying by the ton. It’s been the mainstay of this business ever since.”

Popularity of birding among garden center patrons can vary heavily depending on location, Ott says. The types of birds that people like to attract to their gardens also change with the region, and it’s up to the garden center to know its customer base enough to cater to these needs and levels of interest, he adds.

“People were really involved in it. We’ve just seen over the 30 years I’ve been here how it has evolved into really kind of a science,” Ott says. “Here, where we’re at, people are after the cardinals, finches, chickadees, woodpeckers, and certain people like certain birds. Some people really detest the woodpeckers because they really can be a problem on wood houses. Some people love blue jays and others don’t because they’re a type of bird that can be a little unruly at the feeding station.”

When examining the link between gardening and birding, Ott says he thinks gardeners tend to be people who enjoy the outdoors in general, including birds. For these people, growing plants and feeding birds aren’t chores; they’re relaxing in equal measure.

“If you like gardening, if you like the outdoors and making sure your house looks nice with flowers, you’re obviously concerned about the outside,” Ott says. “Usually, those same kinds of people fall into the same line. They’re buying on a regular basis because they love their birds. They get satisfaction and that’s important to them.”

Rock Valley, which was founded in 1967, isn’t the only garden center encouraging customers to explore the world of backyard birding. Wilson’s Garden Center in Newark, Ohio, provides visitors with tips and guides for attracting birds to the garden, while selling the gear to do so. Shelli Berry-McDaniel, horticulturist at Wilson’s, agrees that a passion for the outdoors translates easily between growing and feeding.

“I think, for most folks, it’s just the love of the outdoors and what nature has to offer and trying to provide as much of that within their living space as possible,” Berry-McDaniel says. “With our location, we’re situated in sort of a rural area, so it’s kind of 50/50. I would say half of [the customers] have absolutely no interest and the other half are die-hard. We do offer some specialty seed products; there are some folks who come in and that’s what they buy and they really don’t visit any other area of our garden center.”

Carrying birding inventory doesn’t quite cut it with dedicated birding hobbyists. Ott says a high-quality product is crucial for satisfying both aspiring ornithologists and discerning birds alike. Rock Valley’s custom-built brand of bird seed avoids fillers that most birds reject, including grain sorghum, also known as milo.

“We don’t use types of seed that birds normally don’t eat unless it’s like a last resort,” Ott says. “There’s no milo in our seed mix whatsoever. There are some birds that might eat it, but if you’re looking to attract birds, you don’t want to put something in that’s not really to their liking. It’s a matter of getting the right ratio. Our seed might be a little bit more expensive but [customers will] find more of the seeds that are more expensive to fill that 40-pound bag. Price enters into the picture.”

Berry-McDaniel says informing customers about effective practices is also a key part of an effective birding operation.

“Definitely the education, having folks that are knowledgeable to help folks when they’re looking at the products,” Berry-McDaniel says. “We try not to overwhelm people with products, but at the same time we try and focus on having exactly what a person might need. Just trying to cover all of our bases without being overwhelming, especially to newer folks getting into it.”

“Our staff is well-versed, and I’d say all of them do feed birds themselves, so they have personal experiences as well from reading, research and so on,” Ott adds.

Although it was seen as a somewhat foreign concept decades ago, birding is now being treated as an established category of gardening by several IGCs. However, a garden center’s birding section requires an investment of time, knowledge and resources to be profitable.

“If you’re going to do it, get involved,” Ott says. “Otherwise, it’ll never turn into a very productive avenue for you. You’ve got to have staff on board and know what you’re doing. A simple thing can be complicated if you want to make it successful.”