Resources

Industry Notes

Keep in touch with what's happening
in the wild bird feeding industry here!

We've set up this page with information and other resources to help retailers stay in touch. Visit this page often and follow us on social media!

Bird Industry Growth (BIG) Project ~ What Does it Mean?

In 2017-18, WBFI launched a major study to understand one BIG question: How do you grow your business and how may we grow the wild bird category overall? Through months of extensive study, a well-funded research team set out to tackle these BIG little questions.

•Why has the wild bird category been soft recently?
•Are there generational variables to overcome relative to interest in wild bird feeding?
•How do people progress in the hobby throughout their life and changing lifestyles?
•What motivates consumers in different target groups to participate and buy our products and services?

WBFI understands that members need this information to position their companies for continued growth. A new committee was created, the BIG (Bird Industry Growth) Committee. They were tasked with developing strategies to facilitate category growth by better understanding what motivates our target consumer segments, what messages do people respond positively to, and what are the barriers to participation. Through member-pledged funding, the most comprehensive study to date on consumer habits related to the industry was produced. The full report including the information you see below is available to members only. It can be downloaded as a PDF in the 2017-18 market research tab of the members-only menu. (Need help with access? Email Kbennett@wbfi.org)

Next BIG Steps!

So now we've got all this great market data from the work of the BIG Project. What next? The BIG Committee merged with the Marketing Committee and added a few more industry experts. This working group is taking on what's called the Next BIG Steps Project. This will be a three-year marketing initiative to implement targeted strategies to move the needle in consumer purchasing behaviors. This working group has engaged in a formal agreement with top marketing firm Joy Riot, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to launch this three-year member-funded marketing campaign.

This project will be funded through your voluntary contributions to the Research Foundation. When it's time to renew your dues, you will see this voluntary line item, which is 25% of your dues amount. Please consider the collective impact we can have if every member contributes to this project. Together we can achieve market goals that can't be accomplished by any one company! As always, feel free to contact the WBFI office if you wish to be involved in the working group, or need more information.

WBFI staff Cole Hinz and Kristin Bennett joined Joy Riot marketing experts at a hosted visit to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Mary Guthrie and Justin Cleveland of Cornell helped the group understand Cornells' perspective and what the Lab can bring to the table as industry works with conservation for the good of both.

Webcast: Feeding Wild Birds in America

Looking for some new video to run in your store? How about a video to promote to your customers? Check out this webcast with co-authors Paul Baicich and Margaret Barker done in May 2016 at the Library of Congress. The video is 57 minutes long. Don't have the book yet? Better get it today from Texas A&M University Press.

Screen capture of webcast The Surprising History of Wild Bird Feeding by Paul Baicich and Margaret Barker

2016 State of North American Birds

Thumbnail of report on update of wild birds and their status

New report issued by a combined effort of the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico presents an update on our wild birds and their status. There are two websites for you to review:

The report evaluates the conservation status of all native North American bird species across all major habitats—nine key ecosystems. It is based on the first-ever conservation vulnerability assessment for all 1,154 native bird species that occur in Canada, the continental U.S., and Mexico, and reflects a collaboration between experts from all three countries. The overall conservation status of each species takes into account its population trend, population size, extent of breeding and nonbreeding ranges, and severity of threats to populations.

Manuscript: Bird-Feeding Impact
on Health of Wild Birds

Dr. David Horn, Millikin University, has done extensive research on wild bird feeding. In his most recent study, partially funded by the WBFI Research Foundation, David investigated the impact that bird-feeding has on wild birds from a scientific perspective. This research has now been published in a new manuscript available for you to download at this link.

Thumbnail of report on effects of bird-feeding activities on the health of wild birds

National Bird Feeding Month Artwork

By Congressional decree, February of each year is National Bird Feeding Month. This is an excellent opportunity for you to promote your business to your customers. In order to help you, here is a free poster you can download and use. The logo is below, and you can click "save as" on your right mouse button to save this to your computer to use.

10 Most Common Species Visiting Feeders

American Goldfinch
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Finch

House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Pine Siskin
Purple Finch

Tryptic of Eastern Bluebird, Mourning Dove and Northern Cardinal

5 Most Attractive Seeds to Birds

image showing four different wild bird seed types: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyger and millet

Black-oil Sunflower
Fine and Medium Sunflower Chips
Nyjer®
White Proso Millet
Other seeds such as Red Milo were less attractive to birds.

In general, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and larger Finches preferred Black-oil Sunflower, smaller Finches preferred Nyjer® and Sunflower chips, and Sparrows and other ground-feeding species preferred White Proso Millet.