Bird is the word

There's an emerging development in the great outdoors: It seems our friends have fine feathers. Not only that, it seems that our friends with the fine feathers have plenty of friends themselves, people who want to make sure the winged ones are well fed/watered/housed. For you, the savvy retailer, this means a plethora of options to share with your customers, who suddenly have taken up an interest in birding and nature products — not to mention those who are grizzled veterans at things aviary.

At the recent National Lawn & Garden Show, the good folks at Home Bazaar displayed a vast and impressive array of bird houses bird feeders, some of which made my old college apartment look like a stable. (No, wait... almost any dwelling of any ilk makes my old college apartment look like a stable). No matter, Home Bazaar definitely has a site worth seeing. Ditto, the virtual world of Maple Hill Designs, which specializes in "inspired shelters for wild birds." If you simply want to be educated about birding and nature, the American Birding Association has an outstanding Web site that offers news, photos, resources and more.