When David Renaud was at a time of transition in his career, he let his love of birdwatching guide him. After working in contemporary visual arts for two decades, he made the leap and opened Birdwatch Nature Shoppe on Avenue Road in 1999. “I felt that need for self-determination,” he says. More than 10 years later, David is still offering customers his expertise. “Anybody can sell cheap birdseed, but very few people sell premium birdseed, which is both healthier and better quality for the birds.”
David and his wife Anne-Marie have always loved to travel. This is in part due to the fact that it’s guaranteed when travelling outside of North America the pair will always get the opportunity to see species of birds they haven’t laid their eyes on before. “That’s the nature of birds around the world. Some are widespread in an entire hemisphere and others can be located only on one small stretch of an Amazon river,” says David. There are 10,000 bird species in the world – and no one will ever be able to see them all, he adds, explaining the allure of birds.
David has helped my husband and I to tremendously enhance our enjoyment of the birds that frequent our feeders both in the front of our home and in the back garden.
To date, we have counted 27 different varieties of birds.
Zorana & John