Birdfeed business soaring across U.S.

By Susan Phinney
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Bird feeding ranks right up there with gardening as a favorite leisure activity.

An estimated 63 million people are feeding their feathered friends, according to research by Metz Farms Wildlife Feeding Specialists of Grand Rapids, Mich.

That means big business for bird seed -- about $2.3 billion big.

Bill Escoubas, owner of Skagit Wild Bird Supply in Mount Vernon, says he's selling several hundred pounds per day, and a ton on a "good Saturday."

To bird-watchers and feeders, the Skagit Valley/Mount Vernon area is as appealing as a well-stocked mall is to shopping buffs. And Escoubas' business has flourished since it opened five years ago.

Escoubas says he used to joke that "we opened the store because I like birds and we don't mind losing money." But he's never had a losing year. He's even put bird-friendly landscaping around his store.

Customers come from the San Juans, Camano Island and other neighboring communities to buy his black oil sunflower seed at about 40 cents per pound (price varies with quantity purchased). Escoubas says a backyard feeder can dispense several pounds of this per day, especially during a busy season when birds are nesting.

A feeder can attract about 20 species of birds in this area, he says, and those are good birds, not nuisance birds like sparrows and starlings, he adds.

Black oil sunflower seed is his best seller, but in second place is his blend of three varieties of sunflower seeds and white millet that sells for about 60 cents per pound. The premium blend, at 70 cents, has about the same ingredients in different proportions. "It doesn't attract different birds per se, but it doesn't leave as much mess," Escoubas says.

Skagit Valley Wild Bird Supply is at 1518 Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon. Take the Kincaid Exit off Interstate 5, cross over the West Side Bridge (following signs to Anacortes) and it's two miles west.