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Valentines Day is not just candy and flowers. If you want to give a thoughtful gift, put some thought into the recipient of the gift. Does your Valentine love watching the birds?

If you are looking for a Valentines Day gift for the birding enthusiast in your life, you cannot go wrong with any of these ideas. Whether you choose one or a combination of choices, your bird watcher will love you for giving such a thoughtful gift.

If you have a garden, you will want to start with a birdhouse. My favorite is the Bluebird house, but there are many other choices. There are generic houses, houses specifically for the Chickadee or Titmouse; you can even get a house for bats, who will hungrily gobble up the offending mosquitoes of summer. Another mosquito hungry bird is the Purple Martin. Watching them swarm to a Martin house in early spring is a magnificent sight.

Birds cannot resist water. One of the fastest ways to entice birds to your backyard is with water. There are several styles of birdbaths to choose from in all price ranges. The most inexpensive birdbaths are either plastic pedestal baths or a hanging dish. On the high priced end of choices is a birdbath with moving water or even a fountain. Birds are quick to identify the sound of moving water. Another benefit to moving water is it discourages mosquitoes. Mosquitoes do not lay larvae in moving water.

A birding enthusiast's garden is not complete without bird feeders. Different birds enjoy different types of feeders. While the smaller birds enjoy a covered feeder, larger birds such as Cardinals and Blue Jays will relish at a flat feeder, also called a table feeder. If you do not have a garden, window feeders are the way to go. The best seeds to offer for the best variety of birds are black oil sunflower seeds. Thistle seed is another food relished by a wide variety of birds. Thistle seeds are small and require a special thistle seed feeder.

A birdwatcher will love a field guide to identify the birds they see. My favorite is A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America by: Roger Tory Peterson. If you live in the west, there is a variety of guides, including National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds

Do not forget binoculars. I find a field binocular of 7x35 both sufficient and affordable. But, you can find binoculars in prices ranging from $20.00 to $900.00.

I love watching the birds in my garden. Everyone that knows me knows that they cannot go wrong when buying me a gift, if they choose something for the birds. It won't matter to me if I get a half a dozen feeders or houses. I will find a spot for every one of them.

Treat your birding enthusiast to a gift that is bound to delight them!

Learn more about this author, Phyllis Cunningham.
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