Editor’s Picks: Best Gifts for Bird Lovers

You can be the knower is variety memes explaining that once you reach middle age, you are transformed, Harry Potter style, into one of a few hobbies, such as making sourdough bread, gardening, or bird watching. I can’t argue with that, as I’m a middle-aged man and an avid bird watcher. But I know that enjoying birds and their various activities is fun for all ages. Birds are beautiful, interesting, and unpredictable, and they are fun to run list of life all the birds you have ever seen and hope to see in your lifetime.

Whether someone you know is in their birdwatching phase, preparing for this phase, or has been in it for years, all of these unique gifts—traveling birdwatchers and backyard birders—are items that I or another Bird Reviews team member has tested, gifted, or bought IRL and enjoyed.

For more information on equipment instructions, see our instructions at Best Bird Feeders and Best Binoculars. For more gift ideas, see all of ours gift guide Learning, including The Best White Elephant Gifts, Best Gifts for Menand Best Viral TikTok Gifts.

Updated May 2026: I have updated this guide to the new version, changed the selections, added a game, smart nest box, magazine, and a new jacket. I’ve also made sure the links and prices are up to date.

Our Favorite Smart Bird Feeder

If you love birds, nothing beats seeing them up close and personal, hosting all of their birding experiences. I have learned a lot about birds in the last two years try smart bird feeders than I have in my whole life, like the fact that these birds lay eggs in the nests of other birds (such as juncos) and junco birds raise chicks like theirs, even if they are not identical. Or that jays and other corvids are scavengers, and spend all day picking nuts from a mix of feeder plants to hide around the yard. There are many smart seed feeders on the market, but the top quality Birdfy (available with a blue or yellow roof) stands out for its price, features, reliability, and use without registration, making it the best gift I’ve ever given myself.

Family Choice

My mom gifted this to my family about 10 years ago, and to this day, it’s the most played and fun game we’ve ever had, in any format. Shuffle the small cards and call; players place a blue cardstock square on their bingo card if they have the bird. My son loved it, his friends loved it, the neighbors loved it, his family loved it—it can be played by up to six people at once, and it’s suitable for all ages. There is no reading or sharing of rules required. Best of all, neither my husband nor I have had to play multiple times a day for years (an important bonus for any parent of young children).

For Early Birds

Birders may already have good binoculars, but for birders, children, or anyone just starting out, the best binoculars are lifestyle ($22) would make a great gift. WIRED contributor Caramel Quin made the announcement Best Binoculars. I bought everyone in my family a cruise to Alaska last summer, and I’m glad I did. It’s light (7.2 ounces) but sturdy, with an aluminum case instead of plastic, and it’s small enough to fit in a pocket if you’re traveling and don’t want to deal with it around your neck.

Bird Nerd Classic

8- by 11-inch hardcover by noted biologist David Sibley (known for his Sibley Field Guide) may be too big and heavy to fit in a backpack for reading in the field, but it remains a reliable source of interesting bird information. Did you know that mallard chicks only have a 15 percent chance of hatching and that when hatched, less than half of the chicks survive? And jays in the northeastern US often eat paint chips in search of calcium, which doesn’t occur naturally in this area? Or that rabbits look for spiders to feed their babies for the first week after hatching, since spiders are high in taurine? Whether you like it or not, you will know all these things and more if you give this book to someone close to you.

A Variety of Bird Foods

My husband and I received this food basket and other cookies as a gift about 10 years ago. The basket has fallen to the ground many times; chewed and used as exercise equipment by squirrels; and surviving blizzards, snow, and everything the Pacific Northwest winter has to offer. Sure, it looks smart, it looks good these days, but it still works.