What Gift Can I Give A Bird Lover This Christmas?

Choosing gifts for any animal lovers can be quitethat are put out in a simple nut feeder could save
a pleasure, as it is often a gift that is shared bythose birds lives on many a night when there is
the recipient with her animal friends or pets. Thisfrost and snow around.
is especially so with bird lover gifts. People whoThe variety of bird feeders is very wide
really love birds tend to want them to enhancenowadays. Window feeders have been around a
their gardens, to encourage real wild birds to visitlong time, but they too have grown in the variety
time and again, or even stay for the breedingavailable since the first plastic versions appeared a
season.few decades ago. In more recent years, some
A gift for a bird lover can therefore be a gift ofvery decorative, and attractive feeders have
life, a promotion of nature around the home,been created, and there is a wide choice of these
visible from the windows or while tending theavailable now as gifts for your bird lover friends
garden. Encouraging wild birds to their gardens isand relatives.
something that millions do in the northernRemember also that you can get feeders that
hemisphere, especially in the winter when manyare for particular species of bird. You will find
wild birds suffer from food shortages.feeders for bluebirds, hummingbirds, orioles and
At Christmas, cards are commonly adorned byother beautiful birds.
robins, their red breasts contrasting so vividly withShould you decide to buy a bird feeder as a
the white snow. But that pretty picture can beChristmas gift, it may be a nice touch too if you
deceiving, with the harshness of winter deprivingadded a supply of an appropriate bird food. That
the robin and other resident birds of thecould mean the happy bird lover setting the
sustenance and warmth they need to survive untilfeeder up Christmas morning, and having some
spring. It is that threat that brings out the best invery special feathered visitors for Christmas lunch.
bird lovers through those winter months.And I?m not talking about the turkey!
It is not just winter, though, that encourages trueBird Houses or Nest Boxes
bird lovers to think about the birds. In theIf you want to brighten up Christmas by looking
summer, too, many Americans and Britons haveahead to spring, then you will find another range
taken to encouraging birds to nest in their gardensof bird lover gifts with bird houses, or nest boxes
or on their homes.as they are more commonly called in the UK.
What Gifts Can You Choose For A Bird Lover?While bird houses may not be used until spring
Christmas comes as the coldest of winterand summer for nesting, there are two good
approaches, so if you know someone who caresreasons for setting them up early.
for the wild birds, it can be a good time to buy aFirstly, some birds will use them as shelter in bad
bird gift that will help them with their feeding ofweather, so again, this is a gift that could be a life
the birds in their garden. This will not only help thesaver. Secondly, house prospecting amongst birds
regular bird visitors to their garden, but encouragecan go on long before nesting. If the bird house
new visitors too. Sometimes in the worst winters,goes up in December, you can bet that this new
some rarer birds may give lots of pleasure andpiece of prime real estate will be eyed by many a
excitement to the garden's owner as they comebird passing through the garden or by the house.
seeking food and shelter.Bird houses make for quite an exciting gift for
If you are not a bird lover yourself, and are notbird lovers, as the gift will bring lots of pleasures
sure of the sort of things you can buy as a gift,once the first birds use it for nesting. It is also a
here are a few ideas for you:great way to teach children about birds as they
Bird Feederswatch the parents building the nest, the laying of
Bird feeders can be the winter saviour for manythe eggs, the hatching of the nestlings, and then
birds in a cold winter. This is especially true withthe feeding of the young before their departure.
small birds, who have to eat continually fromA real pleasure for bird lovers young and old alike.
dawn to dusk to survive the night. Those nuts