NEWS FROM BIRDWATCH AMERICA By Mark McKellar "Lots of new products are on the way!" Each January, I try to attend the largest trade show in our industry - Birdwatch America. This year the show was 25% larger than ever before and I was really impressed with some of the new products. Some new things from one of my favorite vendors, Erva (poles and hooks), include new pole toppers shaped like squirrels, cardinals and sunflowers. Also coming from them is a new hanging bird bath and two new pole staking systems. Rubicon (of recycled milk carton fame) has a new covered ground feeder. Buy an Identiflyer and get a coupon for 1/2 off your next song card. (ends May 31, 2004) I am bringing in a couple of new lines of feeders that impressed me. The line from T.H. Hoff are beautiful yet functional and the Country Classic feeders are more traditional. For the kids, we are getting Audubon Birds from Wild Republic. The cuddly birds sing authentic bird songs when squeezed. Fun for all ages is the Songbird Indentiflyer. We have carried them for years but they continue to release new song cards and this year the Identiflyer is available in BLUE as well as green. As with the last couple of years at the show, Anti-Squirrel is huge again. A really neat product from BirdQuest is a baffle that will hold most any hanging feeder. The baffle is armed with 3 D-cell batteries and when a squirrel gets on the feeder the motor spins them off. Sounds familiar, but there is no recharging and it works with an existing feeder. The video footage looked impressive. I have been searching for hand-carved, life-sized sculptures of birds at affordable prices for years. Hummingbird Studies has finally answered the call. I am bringing in several pieces and will try to resist taking them all home. Perhaps the coolest new product (especially if you are a techi) is the line of cameras from NatureCam. The tiny video cameras can be place in nest boxes, on a bird feeder, even submerged in a pond. The cable can be run to your television, VCR or computer for hours of entertainment. These James Bond sized cameras run between $100 and $149. I am excited about the new products we are bringing in and I hope you will be too. Stop and see us soon.

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