Nature-Friendly Gifts for a Birdwatching Mother's Day

As with a previous article...One year an Associated Content sponsor wanted a wide assortment of articles about Mothers Day gifts for mothers with different special interests. I showed the list to my mother, and she agreed to be the consultant to brainstorm about gifts for "Green" or birdwatching mothers. Here is the birdwatching list, revised and updated, with Amazon links. (If you use a link to buy the object shown, no shopping around, in theory Amazon sends me money. Duh. It's your mother's day.) As before, suggestions are sorted by level of birdwatching expertise.

1. Raw Beginner: A raw beginner might not yet have a good field guide. Most birdwatchers find Peterson's field guides most useful in the field, Sibley's most informative for reading at home, and the Audubon Society's most inspiring (all those gorgeous photos). The birdwatching mother can probably use all three.



(I'm in an Eastern State. Are you? Let's mix it up with these links...)






2. Raw Beginner: Some beginners start watching birds without binoculars, usually because they become interested in big, tame birds like ducks or seagulls. Sooner or later we all want binoculars. Amazon wants you to know they're useful at concerts and sports events too!



3. Mobility-Impaired: Birdwatching purists scorn the idea of luring birds close to houses with feeders. Bird feeders are, however, the easiest way for some people to watch birds. Some people even enjoy watching squirrels compete with birds for seeds, or identify with Marge Piercy's character who built a squirrel feeder. Whether you try to "baffle" the squirrels or not, however, make sure the feeder is well out of reach of cats, at least five feet off the ground. (Our Founding Queen, Black Magic, not an especially large cat, could scale a ten-foot wall, putting a foot down and pushing off twice on the way up. Graybelle, the extra-large cat who left a distinctive name to the Cat Sanctuary, could reach four feet off the ground without even jumping. Currently, Samantha Scaredycat, who may always be a small cat and seems to think of herself as prey, can jump over five feet straight off the ground. An alternative to using a stepladder to stock a bird feeder is a pulley arrangement that brings the feeder close to a window for cleaning and refilling.)



(Say whaaat? Amazon sells these feeders by ones, claims that's a "best seller," but then wants to link to pages that sells packages of two, four, or six. Oh well. The salient point is that this bird feeder is for hanging from a tree branch or clothes line. You can also find long poles for hanging bird feeders, bird baths, bird nest boxes, etc., at levels that bring our feathered friends close to upstairs windows.)

4. Beginner: Many birdwatchers belong to conservation groups--big ones with political visions, or little local ones with no agenda beyond reserving a space in a local park. Consider a lifetime membership in a group Mother respects but can't afford to join.

5. Beyond Beginner: After adding all the frequently seen local birds to their lists, some birdwatchers decide to watch for specific behaviors rather than travelling to add more species. The Stokes' Field Guide to Bird Behavior series describes several amusing things birdwatchers may see. Herons (who can actually form large flocks at night, however solitary they are while fishing) kiss when they enter family members' territory; avocets throw a wing over their mate while strolling together.



6. Any Level of Expertise, Low Income: Most nature parks are free to the public, but some mothers can't afford transportation to a local nature preserve. Consider riding the bus or driving (any birdwatching friends, actually) to parks they can't visit alone.

7. Medium Expertise, High Income: Some birdwatchers spare no expense to drive, fly, or sail to places where they might be able to add a rare bird to their lists. If Mother belongs to that crowd, or wants to, why not treat her to a tour of an obscure island?

8. Medium Expertise, High Activity: Although birdwatching gear is simple, active birdwatchers go through a lot of sturdy shoes, T-shirts, natural-material sweaters, waterproof nylon "shells," backpacks, and cameras. They may appreciate a shopping spree at L.L. Bean or the Army-Navy surplus store.

9. Serious Ecologist: Some birdwatchers are less concerned about personally seeing rare birds than about making sure the species survive. Conservation groups have developed programs just for this type of birdwatchers. For a fee you can "adopt" or "sponsor" a rare bird being reared in captivity or monitored in a preserve.

10. Any Mother: What Mothers Day was designed to celebrate was Mother's love of her children and grandchildren. While the mother of your children, grandchildren, etc., may be rearing a blended family of six and want quality time to go birdwatching without her brood, in the spirit of Mothers Day let's imagine that more readers and their mothers would enjoy quality time for Mother to watch birds along with her children and/or grandchildren. Sometimes the best Mothers Day gifts are free.