By KAITLIN LEMBO
[email protected]
DELMAR — After 20 plus years in construction accounting and having retired from the Navy Reserve, Lance W. Raffe looked for a way to turn his passion for nature, feeding wild birds and attracting wildlife to his backyard into a business. Wildbird Junction Backyard Nature Shoppe is the final result of that search.
After years of frustration looking for a quality source of wild bird feeders, bird houses, bird baths and, especially, wild bird seed and seed blends, Raffe was determined to create the store that he wished he could have shopped in during his many years as a backyard wild bird feeding hobbyist.
According to Raffe, “there are other stores in the area that sell bird feeders and wild bird seed, but none of them offer the quality, selection, value, customer service and knowledge base that we do. We want Wildbird Junction to be the one-stop-shop for everyone in the Capital District that feeds wild birds and wants to attract wildlife into their backyard.”
As a veteran, Raffe is proud that Wildbird Junction offers a large selection of products Made in the U.S.A. Many of those products come with lifetime warranties and, as a Service Center for Droll Yankees, Aspects, Squirrel Busters and Woodlink, Wildbird Junction will honor those warranties in-house. “I don’t care where or when you bought your feeder”, Raffe said. “If it’s covered by a warranty, we’ll see that you get satisfaction.”
Over the years, Raffe has been most frustrated by the lack of high quality wild bird seed in the area. “I am proudest of our wild bird seed and seed blends”, said Raffe. “Big box stores and garden centers sell blends that contain seeds, like red millet, that local birds don’t eat or they contain low cost fillers that attract nuisance birds. Our wild bird friends deserve fresh, high quality, high energy food, and that’s all we sell here.”
Unlike other wild bird stores, Wildbird Junction also offers a wide selection of nature gifts, garden décor, guide books, nature toys, chimes and a full line of binoculars.
You can visit Wildbird Junction Backyard Nature Shoppe at 308 Delaware Ave, Delmar. For more information, call (518) 478-WILD (9453) or by visiting www.wildbirdjunction.com