Forget the $2,000 spotting scope, $1,200 telephoto lens, or the $800 pair of binoculars. Not that items with such price tags are ever on my holiday wishlist anyway, but with the economy as it is, it seems ridiculous to want for anything that carries a price tag of any sort.
I know in our house “frugal” is the word of the season. The kids will get a few things and that’s about it.
Yes, the gloomy and uncertain economy may have put a damper on Christmas spending, but that doesn’t mean it has to impact Christmas giving. For the birdwatcher, the beauty of the hobby is that it takes only a minimal investment to enjoy.
So with the faltering economy in mind, here is my gift-giving guide for those with a birdwatcher on your list. If you’re the birdwatcher instead of the giver, simply circle the suggestions below that you like, fold over the paper to highlight this column, and discretely place it where the giver might “accidentally” find it.
Some of these suggestions may seem a bit corny at first, but remember, cheap or free is the criteria. You never know what might resonate with someone.
• The most obvious suggestion for a free gift is the gift of time. Give your birdwatcher a few extra hours or an entire day to enjoy the hobby.
• This is an accompanying suggestion to go with the first one. Why not join your favorite birdwatcher on an excursion. Allow him or her to pick the location and simply tag along on a walk. Ask a lot of questions, too. Who doesn’t like to share knowledge about their passion?
• Start a tradition of going birdwatching on Christmas. Take a short walk or even designate a time slot to watch the feeders and talk about birds from the comfort of your home.
• Encourage your birdwatcher to keep a journal — either a running journal of their sightings or their thoughts accumulated over years of birdwatching. If your birdwatcher is reluctant to do the writing, offer to be the scribe and jot down their feelings for them.
• Take a photo of your birdwatcher in “action.” Accompany your birdwatcher to his or her favorite spot and snap a few photos. Either get a few prints made up or simply e-mail the photos to the birdwatcher so he or she can do what they want with them. Although not everyone may admit it, everyone loves to see photographs of themselves.
• Encourage your birdwatcher to go “birding at night.” By that I mean your birdwatcher can take some time at night to scan the Internet for all the birdwatching Web sites out there. Give your birder a few hours of peace to simply browse the Web, looking for interesting bird sites. It’s dark by 5 p.m. in the winter so that leaves plenty of time to “birdwatch at night.”
If you feel compelled to spend a little money to have something to wrap, you can still think cheap. Well, maybe inexpensive is a better word.
• An inexpensive pair of binoculars is a good bet. Shell out $10 or $20 for an extra set of binoculars that your birdwatcher can keep in the car, or in the den, or anywhere else where it may come in handy. I have two pairs and I can certainly find a use for a few more.
• Paperback field guides are inexpensive, too, and, like binoculars, birdwatchers can never have enough. Each one is different and, while some are clearly better than others, they all offer something new.
Economic hardships have hit nearly everybody by now in one way or another. That doesn’t mean Christmas gifts have to fall by the wayside. It just means more creativity, thought, and heart need to go into the gifts. Isn’t that the way it should always be anyway?

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