April 02, 2020
April marks the return of migrating songbirds and others to our home region of Vermont.
As everyone knows, the spring of 2020 is marked by a global pandemic. Our own Vermont-based operations are able to function normally, and we ship daily. We fill your orders and ship within 2 business days or less.
However there are significant shipping speed and delivery impacts on our orders, which are well beyond our control for your small packages. With increased volume of online sales, and decreased air traffic, among other problems, the speed of postal services delivery is slowed, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Thank you for your patience.
Specific country updates are below.
1- April 18. The U.S. Postal Service issued a notice that deliveries of small packages are averaging 3 to 4 days for delivery in the U.S., instead of 2 to 3 days, because of the abundance of packages in the mailstream during the pandemic.
Orders from Canadian customers are averaging 2 weeks until delivery, which is far slower than normal, again due to the pandemic.
2- DATE of April 27: We are temporarily NOT shipping to any EU countries OTHER THAN Germany.
We are NOT shipping to Switzerland and Scandinavian countries.
We ARE shipping to the UK and Germany.
Why? Because the US Postal Service, which normally ships small first class packages by AIR, is instead shipping BY BOAT to Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Spain and more. This is due to the reduced air travel.
3- BOAT DELIVERY. If you have ordered in the last month, your package to the above countries may be traveling BY BOAT, and it may take a TOTAL of 4 - 8 weeks to arrive to you. In your tracking information, you will see that we shipped to you, and the package was in Jamaica NY at the International Processing Center, and is now moving towards the destination. There will be no more tracking data until it is in your country and delivered.
Delivery by Boat was an emergency level decision at the US Postal Service, which was not foreseen, and which is unavoidable at this time. Please accept our apologies and please be patient with us.
4 - Check to see if there are stores with our products in your country or region. See our In Store list. Of course, many stores are closed temporarily.
5 - Are you an Amazon customer of ours? We fulfill the Amazon orders of Birdsbesafe products here in Vermont. The slow shipping times for US and Canadian packages will also apply to your Amazon orders. We are shipping your order in a timely way, but delivery may be delayed.
OLDER NOTES from mid-April
a. For some countries, in western Europe, we had "paused" shipping to for the last two weeks, due to disruptions or potential disruptions in mail service from the pandemic. We re-instated shipping to these countries (such as Germany, Austria, etc.) today. We will continue monitoring the situation, the best that we can. Thank you for understanding.
b. We are able to keep to our normal shipping schedule, and expect to do so throughout the spring. See our customer service page for general information.
c. PLEASE do not order our products from an entity pretending to be an authorized re-seller of our products on PAWTYGOdotCOM. They are not. They are in violation of copyright laws, among other things. Please support the small business, here, that works to make and sell the patented Birdsbesafe cat collar covers.
d. We have recently updated some shipping rates to match the actual cost of shipping small packages. Our packages can not travel at "letter rate". They use "package rate" which is several dollars, due to their thickness.
e. Beginning mid-April, we are no longer shipping to South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
The returning birds are singing from the trees, here, in Vermont, and we hope that you are able to spend some time seeking solace in nature and birdwatching where you are. We are happy to be able to keep your yards safe for birds this spring. Thank you for your support of our small company. - Peace to all, Birdsbesafe co.
May 22, 2020
Hello!
We will be shipping again on Tuesday May 26, following the holiday weekend.
In the past month, we have had some inquiries about availability of different colors and patterns. Everything we have for sale, currently, will show on the Shop page. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, we have fewer color choices for you than normal.
Be well, stay safe, and enjoy the birds in your yard this year!
May 15, 2020
March 11, 2020
A news story on All Things Considered on NPR Radio by Lauren Sommer discusses the toll on wildlife by free-roaming cats, and also describes the science study of the Birdsbesafe cat collar cover, in discussion with lead scientist Dr. Willson.
