Unique Holiday Gifts for Bird Lovers

If you have a bird lover on your list this year, this article is for you. From inexpensive gift baskets to unusual bird houses, I will give you ideas for perfect gifts for your bird loving friends.

Create a beautiful and practical gift basket for bird lovers.

Many people think of food items or bath accessories when they think of gift baskets; gift baskets don't need to be limited to those items. Creating a gift basket for your bird loving friends is easy and does not have to cost a fortune. Wicker baskets are available in many sizes and shapes at hobby stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby. You can fill them with small bird feeders, bird feed, bird refrigerator magnets, and note cards or stationary.

Buy Unique Bird Feeders and Bird Houses.

Discount stores often carry bird feeders and birdhouses at reasonable prices. If you'd rather shop online, google the term unique bird houses and you will get a lot of results. Most of the bird houses I've seen online were uniquely designed, but they were significantly more expensive than those I've seen at discount stores ( such as Big Lots) or other retailers. If cost is an issue, you will be better off searching the discount stores first. You can always spruce up a plain birdhouse using craft paints and stick-on jewels (the latter is especially appealing to Liberace birds).

Good binoculars/ field glasses make excellent gifts for birders.

Every bird-loving person needs a good pair of binoculars. If your friend is a serious birder, chances are he or she already owns a pair. It never hurts to have a spare pair, however, and your bird loving friend or family member would probably be delighted to receive a new pair. There are digital cameras now that double as binoculars--an excellent gift for bird lovers. They range in price, so you will probably want to shop around for the best deal.

Everyone who loves birds will enjoy Peterson Field Guides.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America, is a bird guide by Roger Tory Peterson. Peterson is well known and bird lovers are sure to enjoy this if they don't already own a copy. They are available at Amazon and other online book sellers for under $15.

Give them the gift of bird song with a bird song CD.

Peterson (and others) also offer several Cds of bird songs. I've included a link to these in the resources section of this article. They are priced from $20 to $40.

Buy a gift subscription to Audubon magazine.

If your friend is not already a member, a gift membership to the Audubon society is an ideal gift. According to the Audubon website, the current fee for a U.S. membership for one year is $20. I've listed the link to their website in the resources section of this article.

Even if your friend already has a membership to the Audubon Society, they may not have a membership to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Membership is $35 at the time of this writing, and includes a subscription to Living Bird, a quarterly magazine, and Birdscope, a lab newsletter.

I hope these gift ideas will help you as you shop for the perfect gift for your bird lover.