Sometimes, when I’m in one of those huge national chain stores and see someone loading a big bag of generic bird seed into their cart, I’m moved to tell them that they’re just buying future weeds and squirrel food.
If they ask what I use, I tell them all about Wild Birds Unlimited.
I, too, used to regularly buy those big bag-o-seeds, until about 15 years ago when I was introduced to Wild Birds Unlimited. Back then, there were only three WBU stores in the Houston area. Now there are seven, and I’ll be doing a GardenLine appearance this Saturday at the Pearland location. It’s at 2800 Broadway in the Conn’s strip center.
Before I get to all the reasons you should join me 11 a.m.-1 p.m., let me tell you exactly why you should be shopping at Wild Birds Unlimited.
It is not a stretch to say that nearly 75% of those big, cheap bags of seed are nothing more than filler - stuff birds simply won’t eat. They just toss it to the ground to get to the 25% they want. See for yourself … look at the ingredients list on a bag of seed from a big-box store. You’ll see it dominated by milo, wheat, oats and flax – “cereal filler.”
What’s in bags of food at WBU? Check their No Mess Blends, and you’ll see ingredients like oil sunflower, safflower, striped sunflower, millet, sunflower chips and peanuts.
You should also avoid big bags from those big stores because of their lack of freshness. Most mass-merchandiser chains buy in bulk, and the seeds sit in hot warehouses for weeks and months, where they lose freshness and oil content. Bugs can also hatch in the seed, infest it and get into your house. WBU, on the other hand, gets seed directly from the suppliers and turns it often, so it is fresh.
If you don’t know what kind of birds are visiting your yard, or what kind of birds you want to attract, that’s an even better reason to get to WBU. Their experts can match the birds living in your habitat to the type of seed they like. They can also help you learn what food to offer based on the season.
For example, we’re now in the middle of hummingbird season, and WBU can help you attract more of them with exclusively designed feeders that keep ants and wasps away. Those big box stores may sell cheaper hummingbird feeders, but they do a poor job of attracting the beautiful aviary acrobats.
I love doing appearances at Wild Birds Unlimited because they always provide us with some really cool things to give away. For instance, two lucky GardenLine listeners will win amazing WBU feeder systems on Saturday. And the the first 30 people who bring me a printed copy of this article or show it to me on their phone will receive some free fertilizer. It could be a four-pound jug of Nitro-Phos, or a bottle of Medina Hasta Gro.
Be sure to register for our two grand prizes. At exactly 1 p.m., we’ll hold drawings to give away an Eliminator™ Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder (below left) and an Advanced Pole System® Feeder.
The Eliminator Squirrel-Proof feeder protects your bird-seed bounty from the thieving critters. When one of them touches the perch ring, its weight closes the seed ports, foiling its stealing plan. You can set its sensitivity level to also exclude large birds such as pigeons or doves. It's easy to hang, holds 3.5 quarts of seed and is backed with a limited lifetime guarantee.
The Advanced Pole System All-In-One Bird Feeding System, which I have at my home, is a perfect beginning for a station you can expand and design to meet your specific ideas. Everything you need is in the box. Just twist the base pole into the ground using the provided corkscrew auger. Then, slide the stabilizer onto the base pole and push it into the ground. Next, add the extension pole and arms, top it with the finial, then fill and hang your feeders.
And by the way … this will be my next-to-last “GardenLine appearance this spring. So, if you need me to be that “pair of eyes” on something, or you need a signed copy of my book, Texas Tough Gardening, make plans to be at the WBU store, 2800 Broadway in Pearland, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.