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Christmas Gifts for Birders 2000
If you need a few ideas for gifts for birders, here are some suggestions from members of the SATXbirds mailing list.. This would be very handy to leave lying around on a table for a loved one to notice--hint, hint.
Membership in the San Antonio Audubon Society or any birding organization, like the Purple Martin Conservation Association, or Texas Ornithological Society (As a birder, I appreciate gifts that help a conservation organization.)
CD-ROM titled "North American Birds," Peterson Multimedia Guides (available in local stores and from www.sunburst.com, $19.99)
Subscription to a birding magazine: Bird Watcher's Digest (800-879-2473); Birders World (800-533-6644); WildBird (800-365-4421)
2001 bird calendar
Hummingbird Feeders (You can NEVER have enough: since the males are so territorial, more feeders usually means more hummers. And since they fade and crack over time, I usually need replacements.)
One of the new bird guides
Field guide cover to protect your book and keep it handy. [Nice ones with straps from Fieldfare, 401-941-6190; also from ABA Sales]
How about that great new Rio Grande Valley birding map [McAllen Chamber of commerce, 1-877-MCALLEN]; or the CD "Bird songs of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Southwestern Texas" from Cornell Lab of Ornithology. [1-800-843-2473]
A Life List notebook to record your sightings: National Geographic Birder's Journal [local and online book stores]; Cornell Lab's Birder's Life List and Diary [BWD]; Life-List Illustrated [877-840-9595]; Birder's Life List & Master Reference from Lee Valley [800-871-8158].
Roads of Texas map book, 2nd Edition. (I couldn't get along without it.)
One inexpensive gift would be the "Audubon Bird Call." (It is the little wooden barrel with a funnel shaped metal wedge in it. You turn/twist the metal wedge rapidly and the gizmo imitates a bird chirping. They work great and are a lot of fun. The ones put out by Audubon work the best.) [Audubon Workshop or BWD]
Lens Pen for quick binoc and scope cleaning in the field [WBU; BWD]
Polar Neck Tie or similar device; it's a flexible, rolled fabric-covered tube; soak it in water and wear around your neck in the heat (It really works!) [Local stores or ABA Sales]
Large tote bag for all your new birding goodies
We did have a few suggestions about what NOT to get your birder, like the wall clocks with bird songs on the hour...
Thanks to Tom, Susan, Leslie, Keith, Ron, Mike, and Georgina
A few sources:
San Antonio Audubon Society, 5150 Broadway
#257, San Antonio, TX 78209-5710, (210)
308-6788, E-mail
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