Wild bird store closes after nearly 2 decades

Owner says his plans ‘up in the air'

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo Lee Duer, owner of the Wild Bird Center Store in Waldorf that closed last month, stands with his wife, Dee, near their home. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

For 17 years, the Wild Bird Center store in Waldorf has served birdwatchers and other nature lovers, providing birdhouses, bird feeders, seed and other supplies needed by backyard naturalists. But the store closed Oct. 18, owner Lee Duer said, done in by a combination of plummeting revenues and disputes with the landlord and the corporate office.

"It was a good store with a lot of community involvement and a lot of customer backing," Duer said. "We had people coming into the store crying" after the closure of the store in the Shoppers World shopping center in Waldorf was announced.

A love of birding learned from his parents led Duer to abandon his career as a headhunter and open the store. During his childhood in New Jersey, he recalled, his parents expanded the house to improve the view of bird feeders from inside. His father waged an unending war against the squirrels that raided the stores of seed intended for birds.

"My dad, he was taunted by squirrels. They'd run up and stick their tongues out at him," Duer said.

As an adult, Duer took up for a time rescuing injured birds. With "Raptor Rescue," Duer became involved in saving stricken birds of prey, keeping them in cages at his home until they had recuperated enough to go free.

"For some reason —I don't know why — I was able to do that, walk up to a bird and help it, not be torn up by its talons. I got a reputation for that. It was very rewarding for me to be able to do that and release them. It was so emotional."

He liked to release the captives on Aug. 24 each year "as a birthday present to myself."

For now his plans are "still up in the air," but losing the store has definitely been hard for him and his wife, Dee, who is ill.

"It's distressful, very distressful. I'm not an emotional type of guy, I get over things. … Yeah, it's very emotional for me."

But Duer hasn't abandoned his customers. He arranged with Pups 'N' Stuff, a Waldorf pet store, to carry some of the product lines people used to find at Wild Bird Center.

"It's a shame. The man's been around a long time, so I'm trying to do everything I can that will help me a little bit and help his customers. I got the seed in and his bird feeders, just a few items, just about everything he had, just in a small[er] version," said store owner William Boydston, a friend of Duer's.

The shop will also carry Duer's "Shadow" line of greeting cards featuring his nature photography, a "passion" he says he will pursue more now that he has closed his business.

Carol Ghebelian of Indian Head has patronized the store since it opened and said bird lovers will miss the place.

"I just wanted to say how very distressed I am about its closing. It's been so good for the community to increase the awareness of wild birds. … We didn't have anything to provide that service in the county [before the store opened] and now we won't. He knew how to help you select what you needed," said Ghebelian, a longtime member of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society.

Duer declined to discuss the details of his dispute with the corporation.

George Petrides Sr., founder and chairman of Wild Bird Centers of America, said the corporate office was blindsided by Duer's decision to close. The only communication he has received from Duer was a copy of an e-mail sent to Waldorf customers announcing the closure, he said.

"This was particularly surprising, frankly, but I don't know any details. We're kind of at a loss. Lee's not communicating, has not communicated, except for an e-mail — actually, a copy of an e-mail — he sent to customers saying he regrets to report they had to close the store on Oct. 18. And he thanks everyone for their loyalty and patronage and how much they enjoyed the business for that many years," Petrides said. "That's puzzling. The company was not a part of this decision. It was their decision and we regret that it happened and miss him. These are folks I've known all these years."

He said there was no conflict between the Glen Echo-based corporation and Duer.

"That is our position. No dispute at all. That's our position," he said.

emitrano@somdnews.com