Gifts for Bird Lovers

Bird lovers are easy to buy for badly. There is a lot of well-meaning tat in this hobby \u2014 novelty feeders that fall apart, seed mixes birds refuse to eat, ornaments shaped like robins.

What actually lands is something that gives them a new thing to look at every morning. Here is how to choose.

If you know they already feed birds

Get them a camera. They have spent years watching from the kitchen window, and a camera shows them what happens when they are not there \u2014 including the first twenty minutes after dawn, which is when most of the interesting activity happens.

The 1080p smart bird feeder at $149 is the safe choice. It sits under what the well-known brands charge, it identifies species automatically, and there is no subscription to explain or renew.

If they are properly keen and would appreciate the detail, the 4K version at $249 lets them crop in and still see feather patterns.

If they love hummingbirds specifically

Hummingbird people are their own category, and they will tell you so.

The hummingbird camera feeder at $119 is the best gift on this page. It has a macro lens focused for the few inches a hummingbird actually hovers at, which no general feeder camera can do. It is also the least likely thing they already own.

Add the dye-free nectar and you have covered the whole first season.

If you want something they will remember

The wooden nest box with camera at $149.

A feeder shows visitors. A nest box shows a family \u2014 the nest built strand by strand, the eggs, the hatching, and the morning the young birds go. Night vision matters here, because most of it happens in the dark.

It arrives gift-ready, and unlike most gifts it comes back every spring.

Timing note: nest boxes need to go up in late winter. A Christmas gift is perfectly timed. A June gift means waiting until next year.

If they are not especially technical

All of our cameras need a smartphone and a 2.4GHz WiFi network. If the person you are buying for does not use a smartphone, a camera is the wrong gift however lovely it is.

In that case the squirrel proof pole at $69 or the bird food bundle at $109 are genuinely useful and need no setup at all. Every person who feeds birds has a squirrel problem and an opinion about it.

If you want to spend more

The Complete Backyard Bundle at $299 pairs the 4K camera feeder with the pole. It is the most complete single gift here, because placement is half of whether a feeder works and most people never solve it.

If you want to spend less

The bird food bundle at $109 is a year of dye-free nectar and no-melt suet. Unglamorous, genuinely used, and it does not require them to have space or a spare afternoon.

What we would avoid

Novelty feeders. Anything that has to be taken apart to clean. Cheap seed mixes full of milo and cracked corn, which birds scatter on the ground looking for the sunflower seeds. And any camera feeder sold with a monthly plan \u2014 you are giving someone a bill.

Practical points

Shipping is free on every order with no minimum. US delivery is typically 3\u20137 business days, so allow a fortnight in December.

Everything carries a one-year warranty and 30 days to return, which starts from delivery rather than from when they open it \u2014 worth knowing if you are buying early.

If you are stuck, call +1 929 604 7180 and describe the person. We would rather help you pick the right one than sell you the expensive one.