Chirp Nature Centers - Big Bear Lake, California

Shawn Gillis

This is one of those smaller out of the way places that you will be absolutely thrilled you found. Go in to explore because their product selection is huge for such a small location. Customer service and knowledge is awesome. The nice thing is that they have many varieties of every category of product that they carry. I purchased a hanging wreath that you put whole peanuts in to challenge the scrub jays. We also got a window suction cup bird feeder. We will visit every time we are in town.

Jennifer Blair

I finally managed to pop by Chirp this weekend, and it was more than I'd even imagined! I love birds, and had been eager to stop in ever since moving to Big Bear, and was blown away by the amount and variety of items they had in their collection!

Chirp has every sort of feeder you can imagine, including some really cool combo types for multiple seed/nut/suet/mealworm/etc. offerings all in one space! There are pre-made feed mixes targeting certain species, as well as individual containers of specific ingredients you can mix and match yourself, all in a variety of sizes. There were also several butterfly/insect home/flower kits as well! In addition to the hands-on wildlife items, they had a great variety of books and pamphlets full of information and pictures for reference!

I was extra surprised and delighted to find that they also had a lot of really cute home/garden accessories and decor, all appropriately bird/wildlife/plant themed! Many of their products are focused on eleminating waste and giving back to related causes, which I super appreciated as well!

The staff were so friendly and helpful and knowledgeable, not just about the products and services in their store, but about the local community in general! I really appreciated that they took the time to talk to my partner and me about their community events!

Dogs are allowed in, but they should be on their best behavior because there are a lot of delicate or precarious items everywhere that could easily be knocked over or broken! There was a huge HD TV playing bird videos that my dog was absolutely tranfixed by, even though she doesn't usually care about what's happening on screens!

100/10, and I can't wait to go back! ?

Kal

I walked in last week for the first time and it was wonderful. Marta was an absolute darling and she knew how to answer all my questions (I’m new to bird feeding/care). I spent at least 40 mins inside and walked out with three items. Thank you Marta for all your help, I will definitely be back.

Harshita Didwania

Amazing experience in the bird cruise. Saw gulls, grebes and coots. It was really nice weather and peaceful.

Haley MacKenzie

Great selection of nature-inspired gifts, cards, decor, bird houses and seeds. Also has a refillery section with soaps, shampoo bars, laundry detergent, etc. Such a cute store and a great addition to big bear. Worth a stop and worth supporting!

David K

In town for the weekend and learned of their bird walks two days before and it was totally booked. Emailed for backup options and Ellen *actually* emailed and called (!) for follow up. We got a spot and it was the highlight of the weekend.

Mayor Randy led an excellent excursion to Vons marsh. We tailed Matthew closely, he knew everything. What a great guy and local resource. We are as novice as you can get, but if you're a curious person and love to hear passionate people sharing their knowledge he is the man.

Wonderful early morning walk and we went back to the shop where we had coffee and donuts waiting! During which there was a sobering 5* presentation from Dr Mark about the current state of the bird population. One thing we can do is buy bird friendly coffee ... done! They also had raffles and the store was super nice. We got some coffee and stickers with our limited travel budget because it was such a tremendous memory and as Randy said, we wanted to vote with our dollars.

Honestly cannot say enough about the hospitality and thoughtfulness of the entire program. We went from not knowing if it's Ravens or Crows at our campsite (elevation!) to researching where we can get involved locally - and coming back next year for more of the coffee and to see our friends. Thanks Ellen, Matthew, Mark, Beth and Randy. What a gem.

Justin Duarte

Really like this place. Very friendly slightly quiet man behind the counter. I believe his name is James. Such a cool guy for such a cool store. Get him talking about birds, he’s been around. Stores like this need to stay around in a town like this. Join the seed club if you are a local feeder. I had such a good time chatting and looking around and buying very cool books.

Angelina Sauer

You have to check this store out! They play a live feed of bird nests in different states as well as local ones. They have some kids toys and bird feeders and information. The woman working there was amazingly nice, even to my four year old who was trying so very hard to keep his hands to himself. They also have gifts and original pieces of art available. We love it because we felt it stood out from a lot of the other stores in the village, it had something unique to offer.