Steve Kulak and Kay Kozlowski both realize their job is for the birds. And that's a good thing. As co-owners (sharing proprietorship with Dr. Lu Carbyn and Jaynne Carre) of The Wildbird General Store, the duo have a bird's eye view of a trend that's taken wing in recent years in Edmonton. “The interest in backyard birding has really grown over the years,” says Steve. “In a busy city, birding is an easy access point to nature. You don't have to go backpacking in the Rockies for six days. You can set up some feeders, do some gardening, add some accessories, bit of seed and, voila – you have what we often refer to as backyard pets. It gives people that almost instantaneous but also real easy connection to that aspect that's often lost in a big city.”
Steve adds that Edmonton is an ideal spot for birding, or bird-watching, largely due to the vast amount of green space within the municipality, particularly the 80 hectares of land in the valley of the North Saskatchewan River.
