It’s a logical partnership between the Williamsburg Bird Club and Wild Birds Unlimited, and one that has lasted for about 20 years.
Last month, Wild Birds Unlimited presented a check to the Williamsburg Bird Club for $625. The club uses donation funds like these, along with membership fees, to fund nature camp scholarships and scholarships for graduating William and Mary biology students.
The donation is the bounty from an arrangement between the two organizations. When members of the Williamsburg Bird Club shop at Wild Birds Unlimited, the business gives 5 percent of what members spend back to the club. For the first half of 2013, the rebate totaled $625.
Shirley Devan, president of Williamsburg Bird Club, said Wild Birds Unlimited has been a supporter of the club for about 20 years.
“We’ve always supported the bird club,” said George Copping, who owns the Williamsburg location of Wild Birds Unlimited with his wife Valerie. “Wild Birds Unlimited is all about backyard bird feeding.”
Copping likes being able to support the club, and said he did not look at the arrangement as being a business move to boost sales.
“Sometimes you do good things because they are good,” he said.
Members of the Williamsburg Bird Club, which formed in 1977 and currently has more than 200 members, also visit Wild Birds Unlimited once or twice a quarter to answer questions customers might have about the birds in their backyards.
All Williamsburg Bird Club events are free and open to the public, including bird walks and field trips. The club meets on the third Wednesday evening of every month.
Devan encouraged people to come join, no matter their level of birding experience.
“One of our favorite things to do is to share birding and bird expertise with new folks,” she said.
Devan joined the out of a sense of curiosity. She said she has learned a great deal through the club and its bird walks.
“I became interested in learning more about the birds I was seeing around my yard and around my neighborhood, and those are the people who know what’s around here. So I thought, I better hang out with the people who know,” she said.
For more information on the Williamsburg Bird Club, click here. To learn more about the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Williamsburg, click here.
