Technology for the birds

Have you noticed customers in your wild bird department referring to “feeding my birds” instead of “feeding the birds”? The birding hobby is growing, and your customers are starting to treat wild birds like their pets. Even during the recent recession, birding enthusiasts kept their feeders filled with the trendy, premium-priced seed blends.

New bird feeders spin and shock squirrels to keep them away. “From 2007 to 2013, our high-quality bird seed sales remained steady," says Bob Osborne, bird department buyer at Esbenshade's Garden Center in Lititz, Pa. "During the recession, people might have cut back on their own food purchases, but not their birds."

One might think every possible style of bird feeder has already been invented. But there is an emerging tsunami of categories, such as tray, fly-thru, hopper, saucer, platform, tube, jewel-box and more to cater to all types of birds and bird watchers. Some are using newer weatherproof materials and other technological advances. In their quest to keep birding the fastest growing hobby (next to gardening), innovative feeders keep on coming.

The “What’s new?” factor is what keeps customers returning to our garden centers and wild bird departments. And it's exciting to see manufacturers churning out interesting designs and integrating newer technologies.

Timing is everything

It seems we live in an era where there is a timer for everything. Smartphones act as alarm clocks. Coffee makers are programmed to brew while we’re still sleeping. There are now bird feeders with built-in timers that dispense seed at times set by your customers.

Gravity-fed feeders with an internal electronic timer can be set for up to four releases per day. At the scheduled time, the seed drops into a smaller chamber and a motor turns the internal paddle scoops, and just the right amount of seed is released. Customers who are tired of seeing piggy birds or squirrels devour all the seed in their feeders should love these timed-release type feeders.

Solar takes over

Bird feeders made of recycled materials
weather extremes and help keep pests away. With outdoor solar technology so affordable these days, manufacturers are rapidly inventing a cornucopia of products. While solar garden fountains and yard lighting have been around for a few years, bird feeders have, up until now, escaped the solar sensation.

Enter solar seed feeders in cute shapes like snowmen. Now your birding customers’ yards can glow in the dark, too. A solar panel at the top absorbs sunlight during the day and charges the internal battery. When darkness comes, the battery discharges to power a small LED. This light provides a glow that can last for hours.

Some solar feeders emit a variety of colors, including a solar hummingbird feeder that was introduced last year. The feeder tube LED lights up into a color-changing display at night, and the hues change from green to red to blue every few seconds.

While no songbirds or hummingbirds frequent feeders at night, the LED glow provides us humans a visible reference point to find our way around the yard at midnight. Rumors suggest nocturnal critters don’t like LED lights. So a solar seed feeder or hummingbird feeder might help protect against raccoon and opossum visitors.

Baffling squirrels

An age-old battle with squirrels continues for bird enthusiasts. Be careful how you approach squirrels with your birding customers. It’s a real love-hate relationship. One thing we all can agree on is that we don’t want the squirrels in the bird feeders. If your customer likes to feed squirrels, suggest they purchase a separate squirrel feeder and add some whole corn (most squirrels like corn better than bird seed).

If your wild bird customer is willing to get serious about deterring squirrels, technology has some ways to help. The feeder manufacturers have taken dominion over squirrels with feeders that whirl, twirl, flip, trip, shock, and defeat.

Most “squirrel-resistant” feeders (manufacturers are shy about stating “squirrel proof” on their packaging) use an older spring-type mechanism that closes the food dispensing opening or “portal” when a set weight of 8 to 10 ounces is present on a feeder perch. Birds have hollow bones, so several birds can be eating on the feeder without triggering the spring and closing the feeding portal. If a squirrel or chubby chipmunk gets on the feeder perch, the spring activates and the critter is shut out.

More modern squirrel resistant feeders use electronics. When the feeder’s internal IC chip senses an 8- to 10-ounce squirrel on the feeder, it begins to spin. The revolving motion takes the squirrel on a merry-go-round ride that affects its equilibrium. The squirrel doesn’t like getting dizzy and jumps off the feeder. Various model feeders use either rechargeable motors or battery-operated motors.

Some feeders your customers might find shocking, and the squirrels surely will. There are some squirrel-resistant feeders that are equipped with a low-grade electrical wire coils that, when activated by a hand-held remote control, produce a small electrical shock. The pulse causes squirrels to leap from the feeder without injuring them.

Going green

Had a new deck installed lately? Chances are you considered recycled plastic material that looks and feels like wood. It actually is made from used, ground-up soda pop bottles. Many new bird feeders are also being manufactured from similar recycled plastic materials.

Traditional house-shaped “hopper” bird feeders have long been made out of wood. The wood can eventually warp, shrink and crack. They are also prone to insect and squirrel damage.

With recycled plastic tooling and manufacturing increasing, prices have come down. Today, recycled plastic feeders are cost-comparable to the natural white pine and cedar feeders of old.

The newer “green” feeders maintain their good looks for years without all the warping and cracking. The plastic particles are so tightly compressed that the feeder walls are as hard as nails and thus protected from pests and squirrels.

What’s next?

It seems there are always new feeders unveiled with better features, benefits and advances in technology. And there will surely be more to come as inventors, design engineers, and manufacturers seek to optimize the growing hobby of birding.

Through available published research of wild birds’ feeding habits and their food likes and dislikes, garden centers can provide their wild bird customers with the best products and knowledge to fuel the hobby, encourage return store visits and drive sales.

Mike is a passionate birding industry specialist and a veteran retailer of award-winning stores. AndersonWriter@gmail.com