Wild Birds Unlimited: Not So Limited After All

Walking into Wild Birds Unlimited, located on 1462 Fall River Avenue/Route 6, the orderliness of the store is astonishing. While a store catering to birds conjures up the image of seed scattered haphazardly, this place boasts rows of seed and bird food of all variety neatly organized and arrayed for outdoor birds, as well as an assortment of bird houses.

Owner Jason Bowman is all smiles as he explains how his store operates. 

"You can't take photos of myself or the interior of the store. It's a franchise thing. I just have to abide by that. Otherwise, I have some freedom in here. "

In spite of being a franchise, the place definitely has a personal touch. Signs line the store elaborating on purchases that can be made there. Optics. Bird Seed. Bird Feeders. Nature Gifts. The list is specific but elaborate.

Bowman takes prides in the specificity of his store.

"We sell bird feeders and seed. Our primary product is seed, " he states. "High quality seed. It's not something you're going to find at a big box store. The seed here, everything that's in it, birds in this area are going to eat."

Whatever you might want to turn your back yard into a bird feeding habitat is available here, except for one crucial element.

"We don't sell the actual birds themselves, " laughs Bowman.

The store caters only to outdoor birds and outdoor bird enthusiasts.

"We don't sell anything for domestic birds whatsoever-nothing to do with indoorbirds. Think chickadees, cardinals, everything you see in your backyard. The focus here is on nature and the outdoors."

The sound of birds chirping throughout the store makes this a bit baffling, until the source of the chirping is revealed."

"That's a cd," explains Bowman. "If you had actual birds in here, let me tell you, you wouldn't be able to hear yourself. That's our ambiance."

It seems this ambiance has a positive effect on people, drawing individuals of all ages.

"There's a wide variety-anyone from kids in their 20's to adults in their 50's and 60's. It ranges."

Although many people come to the store, they tend not to make many strange requests.

"Like I said, it's a wide variety of different people. Odd requests go in one ear and out the other-we don't get a lot of quirky people, really. Just people who love the outdoors. Sometimes people will ask about chicken feed, but, once again, that's a domestic bird. People usually know what we sell before coming in."

Because of the specific nature of the place, people draw from much further than Seekonk to purchase items from the store.

"We have people that come from Connecticut, East Bay, lots of Massachusetts, " explains Bowman.

In business for nearly 20 years, Wild Birds Unlimited has maintained a strong consumer base in spite of the economy. Bowman has been involved with the franchise for most of his adult life.

"We've been here since 1992. I worked for one of these stores in high school, and then some in  college. After that I opened my own business-construction."

The draw of the store pulled him back, however.

"I knew I wanted to get out of construction before my 40's or 50's so I spoke to my wife and we decided to do this.The people that shop here are great. The franchise is awesome to work with. They just are not going to let a business fail. The efforts they put towards running this franchise is amazing."

The experience he has had has been entirely positive, both with customers and coworkers.

"You know, if you enjoy the outdoors, the conversations you'll have with people here will be great. The people who work here enjoy the hobby itself, as do the customers. It's a pleasure to speak with them."

The personal dynamic between Bowman, his staff and his customers is what sets Wild Birds apart from the bigger stores.

"The biggest difference between us and them is that our feeders are high quality and with guarantees. The information that we have to supply to people about building their backyard into a high-quality feeding area is uncomparable. We take the time to talk to our customers."

He makes a strong analogy.

"It's the difference between going to McDonalds and going to a small restaurant where they cook the food special for you. There's no comparison. There's a huge difference between the seed we sell versus the seed they do,and the service you get here as opposed to elsewhere."

Visit d Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.