You may be familiar with the various memes detailing the fact that once you reach middle age, you're automatically sorted, Harry Potter hat–style, into one of a handful of hobbies, such as sourdough bread making, gardening, or bird-watching. I can't contradict this, since I'm a middle-aged person who got sorted into bird-watching. But I do know that enjoying birds and their various activities is fun for all ages. Birds are beautiful, interesting, and unpredictable, and it's fascinating to keep a running life list of all the birds you've seen and hope to see in your lifetime.

Whether someone you know is in their bird-watching phase, preparing for this phase, or has been in it for decades, all of these unique gifts—for traveling bird-watchers and backyard bird enthusiasts alike—are things either I or another bird-loving Reviews team member tested, was gifted, or bought IRL and enjoyed.

For more specific equipment recommendations, check out our guides to the Best Smart Bird Feeders and the Best Binoculars. For other gift ideas, check out all our gift guide coverage, including the Best White Elephant Gifts, Best Gifts for Men, and Best Viral TikTok Gifts.

Updated May 2026: I've overhauled this guide into a new format, swapped out picks, and added a game, a smart nest box, a journal, and a new jacket. I've also ensured that links and prices are up to date.

Our Favorite Smart Bird Feeder

If you love birds, nothing beats seeing them up close and personal, conducting all their birdy activities. I have learned more about birds in the past two years of testing smart bird feeders than I have over my entire lifetime, such as the fact that cowbirds will lay their eggs in other birds' nests (such as juncos) and the “host” birds will raise the cowbird chicks as their own, even if they look nothing alike. Or that jays and other corvids are scatter-hoarders, and will spend an entire day picking nuts out of a feeder's seed mix to hide caches around the yard. There are many smart seed feeders on the market, but Birdfy's high-quality basic model (available with a blue or yellow roof) stands out for its balance of price, features, reliability, and usability without a subscription, making it a great gift option that I have personally given.

A Family Pick

My mom gifted this to my family about 10 years ago, and to this day, it is the single most-played and most-enjoyed game we have ever owned, in any genre. Shuffle the small cards and call them out; players place a blue cardstock square on their bingo card if they have that bird. My son loved it, his friends loved it, neighbors loved it, extended family loved it—it can be played by up to six people at a time, and is suitable for all ages. No reading or parsing of rules required. Best of all, neither my husband nor I minded playing it multiple times a day for years on end (a bonus feature important for any parent of young kids).

For Beginning Birders

Experienced birders probably already have a decent set of binoculars, but for the birding-curious, kids, or someone just starting out, quality binoculars and a life list journal ($22) would make a great gift. WIRED contributing reviewer Caramel Quin declared these the Best Budget Binoculars. I bought a set for each member of my family for a cruise to Alaska last summer, and I'm glad I did. They're lightweight (7.2 ounces) yet sturdy, with an aluminum casing instead of plastic, and small enough to slip into a pocket if you'll be hiking and don't want to deal with them around your neck.

A Bird Nerd Classic

This 8- by 11-inch hardcover by famed ornithologist David Sibley (known for his Sibley field guides) may be too big and too heavy to fit in a backpack for field reading, but it remains the definitive source for interesting bird facts. Did you know mallard nestlings have only a 15 percent chance of fledging and that once they're hatched, fewer than half of ducklings survive? And that jays in the Northeastern US often eat paint chips in search of calcium, which doesn't occur naturally in that region's soil? Or that chickadees specifically seek out spiders to feed their young for the first week after they hatch, as spiders are high in taurine? Whether you want to or not, you will know all these things and more if you give someone close to you this book.

A Different Kind of Bird Food

My husband and I received this feeder basket and some suet cakes as a gift about 10 years ago. The basket has fallen on the ground countless times; been chewed on and used as gymnastics equipment by squirrels; and survived windstorms, snow, and pretty much everything Pacific Northwest winters have to offer. Sure, looks-wise, it's seen better days, but it still does the job.

Suet—beef fat, if we're being explicit; the solid-form cousin to rendered tallow—attracts a different variety of birds than seeds, primarily insect-eaters like woodpeckers and bushtits. It tends to melt and go rancid in the heat, so I like the melt-free hot pepper variety, which can be used year-round and has been deemed unpalatable by our neighborhood squirrels.

Camera Lenses for Your Phone

Phone cameras are getting better and better, but photos taken with that tiny lens aren't going to win you any awards. If you want more detailed and dramatic photos from your birdwatching expeditions but don't want to schlep a full camera setup around, try a professional-grade phone lens. WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu has tested several of these from Moment and recommends the 1.33X Anamorphic Lens for cinematic video, the 10X Macro Mobile Lens for close-ups, and the 14-mm Fisheye Mobile Lens for fun.

To use these lenses, you'll need a Moment Phone Case (available for recent iPhones) and, if you have an iPhone, the $5 drop-in lens mount in order to screw the lenses into the case. You will also want to use Moment's Pro Camera app, and Julian recommends this filter, which can help cut glare from bodies of water and shoot long exposures. Note that Julian doesn't recommend buying these lenses if you have a Google Pixel or Samsung phone, as Moment seems to have stopped making cases for Android.

The Ultimate Bird Poster

If you've ever wondered how many birds live in North America, this poster displays all 740 of them in one chart, both native and non-native, arranged by size and order. It's educational and a surefire conversation starter. In fact, I’ve had this chart framed in my home's entryway for almost eight years, and I don’t think a single person has visited my house for the first time and not commented on it, regardless of their ornithological interest level. It's really fascinating in person, and even if your giftee is already well-versed in birds, they'll probably still learn something new.

A Smart Birdbath

This camera-equipped birdbath from Birdfy, maker of our favorite smart bird feeder (above), will send your recipient entertaining 1080p photos and 2K videos of their favorite birds—and other backyard visitors—drinking, bathing, or just pausing to ponder their next move.

I've had the Bath Pro for almost a year now, and my favorite part has actually been the non-bird visitors who show up—squirrels, raccoons, and even a large spider triggered lots of funny footage for me to watch, save, and send. The birdbath's shallow reservoir tends to attract algae in the sun, and the foam filters are easily clogged and must be cleaned often (it comes with extra filters, which were useful for me when a raccoon reached in and made off with one, for some reason). The footage takes forever to load, and the pump is easily clogged, but the Birdfy app is fun and easy to use. You can opt for a bath with or without the stand.

For Birders Who Love Adventure

Until reading this book, I had never heard of Blakiston's fish owl. And apparently neither had the author, bird-watcher and biologist Jonathan Slaght, until he caught sight of one—the world's largest living owl. What followed was a five-year passion project to catalog the owl in a remote region of eastern Russia. Part travel adventure, part scientific study, part memoir, this much-lauded nonfiction book reads like a novel and will be a page-turner for anyone who enjoys birds, exploration, or the outdoors.

Make Your Existing Bird Feeder Smart

If your recipient has an existing bird feeder they like, or a seasonal nesting site somewhere around their home or property, they might love a stand-alone bird camera. This one is the best I've tested, compatible with both 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz Wi-Fi networks. The cute green owl face streams 4K HD video and pushes 1080p pics to the Hibird app. There's access to AI identification (which I found to be just OK), livestreaming, and Hibird's “Dr. Bird” ChatGPT-like help feature, which allows you to ask bird-related questions. (I didn't find it to be particularly helpful, but YMMV.)

The auxiliary solar panel can be mounted separately, or you can just take the camera inside to charge when the battery runs out, as I did—the battery charge lasts at least several weeks. The camera comes with a bracket and bendable arm for precise positioning, or you can jury-rig a custom solution. No subscription is needed for use, though a Hibird rep says that may change in the future.

For Bird-Loving Gamers

WIRED reviewer Simon Hill, our staff board game aficionado, says this award-winning card-driven game will appeal to anyone interested in birds, as it pairs strategy with plenty of educational information about different bird species. It can feel complex at first, so it's probably best for families with kids older than 10, but once you get the hang of it, it can be addictive. (Up to five people can play, but you can also play solo.) Playing time is 40 to 70 minutes.

A Smart Birdhouse

Contrary to popular belief, birds don't always sleep in birdhouses. Some cavity-nesting birds may use them to shelter during inclement weather, but where I live on the West Coast, birdhouses are primarily used for nesting, which happens during the spring. This is not my first go-round with a smart birdhouse; I tested the interestingly shaped Birdfy Polygon last year, which did not attract any birds then, and this year kept going offline. As an alternative, I tried Birdfy's newer Nest Duo, which has two 2-MP cameras, one facing the entrance and one tucked discreetly inside. This one worked perfectly, both connection-wise and in terms of bird interest—mine currently has black-capped chickadees nesting in it, and seeing their activity on the Birdfy app each day has been the most fun bird-watching experience I have ever had.

Become a More Observant Naturalist

In his guide to Gifts for Hikers, Backpackers, and Outdoorsy People, WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson said he loved this book by John Muir Laws (no relation to the famed naturalist John Muir) so much that it changed the way both he and his kids looked at the world, allowing them to see a level of detail they'd never noticed before. You don't even have to be an artist to appreciate this one, as it's more about the art of observation. He recommends including these pens with the book, which I have also owned in the past and love.

For Dry Bird-Watching

Given that spring is one of the best times for bird-watching due to all the mating and nesting activity, a good rain jacket is a critical piece of gear. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past 20 years, I admit I probably have unreasonably high standards for rain jackets. It must have a loose fit for layering, but also not make me look or feel like I’m wearing a bag. There must be straps at the cuffs to keep water out if my arms are up. The hood must cover my whole head and stay up while I’m moving around, but also not fall so far forward that it covers my eyes. Cotopaxi’s Cielo rain jacket meets all of these criteria. I have and love the trench version, as I like a rain jacket to be long enough to cover my butt and thighs, especially if I’m walking around or sitting down on a wet bench. As a bonus, the pockets are plenty big enough for binoculars and snacks. The waterproofness is average (10,000-mm rated), but I’ve never had an issue with leaking. I also appreciate that the Bluesign-approved recycled polyester fabric is PFAS-free and not treated with chemicals.

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