Wild Birds Unlimited

Honestly I’ve been wanting to check this place out. Was heading to workout across the street and was going to park there, do my workout and come back Until… The owner/​clerk??? Came out yelling at me to park somewhere else. I told I planned to come in and shop there after my workout. There were no other available spaces to park either. My neighbor is a bird enthusiast and I wanted to make a basket for her birthday! The crazy man yelled several curse words at me and told me to take off. Ok. Never going back there! I always thought nature people were suppose to be peaceful and kind.
Not this place!

I’ve been a birder for a few years but never had a backyard to put up a feeder. When I bought a house one of the first things I did was come here to get the whole setup. They have everything you need to get started with backyard bird-​watching and they are very helpful in showing you how everything works. When I came back a few weeks later because I had a squirrel problem, I got a walk-​through of their excellent selection of squirrel-​resistant feeders (the SquirrelBuster Plus works amazingly well). I got the membership so I can get discounts on all bird food.
The store has everything you could want for your backyard birds.

What a Goofy Experience. This Christmas 2013; my wife asked for a Finch Feeder.
Great…
Wild Birds Carrollwood is by our home. Perfect, I thought. Five minutes and I’m done.
I went in Wild Birds, found the owner and asked which Finch Feeder to purchase. She selected one for me, (price was not an object), it came to $ 75 + tax, Perfect. I agreed and gave her the credit card.
She rung up the sale and said her manager will take over as she has to leave for the day. I told her thanks. The Finch Feed was laid on the counter. Owner left store.
The Manager, Bob, I think, asked why I was buying this particular feeder as it’s really not the right one. So Bob begins giving me his life story and why he’s a Finch Expert.
I said OK. I could not care less, please show me the Right One, no problem. Bob picked another one and it happened to be $ 10.00 less expensive. Great, I gave him back my credit card to get a $ 10.00 credit. And then it happened.
Bob, said… «WE DON’T TAKE RETURNS, IT’S OUR POLICY». I said SERIOUSLY, are you kidding me, I’ve never touched the feeded with my own hands, and it’s never even left your counter where the owner placed it for sale.
Bob restated. «Well we don’t accept returns, it’s our policy», and said… «it is what it is». I said «Are you Drunk»? You told me not to buy the first feeded and now I can’t return it, it’s never left the store, It’s laying right here where she put it”.
He again stated it was «THEIR POLICY, NO RETURNS, JUST STORE CREDITS»
I said «Bob, Here’s my policy. Give me a credit for the entire $ 75.00 + tax, and my policy states I will never return to this store again. It is what it is».
Bob, grudgeingly gave me the credit, and the last thing he saw was my exit from Wild Birds.

What a unique niche store that is apparently part of a franchise but you feel at home in this quaint little shop! Located in a popular area (although construction should be ending in the next month of the new publix concept), this store has been around for many years and has a pretty koi pond and resident cat and turtles right in the middle of the place.
They have a great members club that is worthwhile if you like to care for the birds and squirrels of your yard, members receive extra discounts several times a month on top of a regular 10% off. This year they have had several emails about free seed, our favorite being the «no mess» seed that doesn’t leave behind any husks or shells.
Gorgeous birdfeeders and statues align the shop walls and they are very knowledgeable here! A great tip we got from them is to use safflower seeds in our birdfeeders which cardinals and finches love and the squirrels cannot stand… so everyone is happy and separated.

Great store with a great selection of seed that is always fresh and specifically tailored toward the wild birds in this area. Friendly staff. I recommend the no-​mess blend. I get woodpeckers, cardinals, wrens, thrashers, doves, etc. with this seed.