COS 2025 Holiday Gift Guide
words by Kristina Tsakos
Are you searching for the perfect holiday gift for the bird enthusiast in your life? Or maybe you’re the birder, and you’re looking to treat yourself in time for Spring migration? May this birder holiday gift guide be the inspiration for all your bird-related gift-giving endeavors.
When venturing into the winter cold feels too daunting, a bird feed subscription is a great way to attract your favorite backyard birds to view from the comfort of your home. For an apartment-friendly bird feeder to hold your new seed, try a one-way bird feeder that sticks right onto your window, a window mount platform tray, or this feeder that clamps onto porch rails. This organic bird seed mix sculpted into the shape of a house can be hung on a tree right outside your home for some winter birding fun. In addition to feeders and seed, complete the wildlife porch transformation with a heated bird bath that clamps onto a rail.
Start the new year off right with an Effin’ Birds calendar that delivers a delightfully snarky remark with each page you turn. The shop is not limited to calendars, however. It also has shirts, sweatshirts, cards, and books, all with beautiful bird illustrations and sarcastic jabs.
For the creative in your life, consider this watercolor workbook or coloring book field guide. While these gifts serve as fantastic artistic outlets, they also help with identification skills. For those who love to paint or who want to learn how, online classes hosted by artists such as Jane Kim and Rose Tanner teach a variety of techniques used for painting birds of all kinds. If the birder in your life likes to consume art rather than make it, support local avian-focused artists such as Margie McMahon and Danilo Cuevas.
The Rite in Rain birder’s journal is the perfect gift for the serious birder friend or family member who doesn’t shy away from birding in the snow or rain. Rite in Rain offers notebooks and pens that are water, mud, grease, and sweat-resistant.
For the tech-enthusiast, consider Birdbuddy’s hummingbird feeder that takes high-quality videos and images of the flying friends that come to visit for some sugar water. Or consider this pair of binoculars with a built-in camera that allows you to take record of the birds you’re watching without having to divert your eyes to write your observation down.
And of course, what better gift than one that supports local bird education and conservation? The new COS shop is up and running, with new merchandise including hats and hoodies. And Chicago Ornithological Society memberships range from $5 to $25. Each membership purchase uplifts the effort to bring folks together through a love and appreciation for birds—the perfect way to capture the warm holiday feeling the whole year through.
Note: This post is only for general information purposes. COS doesn’t make any warranties on the items listed above and received no referral commission.