In this season of gratitude and giving, we can choose to be more mindful of the impact our giving has on others - especially birds.
In the interest of shopping locally, being more mindful and considerate in our gift buying, supporting BIPOC businesses - and well, BIRDS! - here is an alternative list of ideas to make your 2021 gifting thoughtful, fun and bird friendly!
First - Shop Chicago Audubon! We’ve opened a store with hoodies, mugs, facemasks and more with great designs to display your love of birds. Our profits from the sale of this merch goes to support our mission and programs.
Second - Shop the National Audubon Society 2022 Gift Guide with lots of festive ideas!
And, if you’re shopping Amazon, use Amazon Smile with Chicago Audubon as the recipient - there’s no additional charge to you, and we receive money directly from Amazon.
Help Birds
Bird Smart Glass - Bird collisions with glass is one of the largest causes of bird deaths during migration. The American Bird Conservancy has created this great guide to products to make windows more safe.
Bird Friendly Coffee - Did you know many coffees contribute to the decline of important bird habitat? The Smithsonian has put together a helpful page to buy coffee grown in a bird-friendly manner.
Catios - Outdoor cats contribute to millions of bird deaths a year - let your cat enjoy the outdoors in a catio, while protecting birds.
U.S. Postal Service - Duck Stamps - Help preserve wetland and grassland habitat - stamps purchased from the American Bird Conservancy are attributed specifically to birders and allow entrance to federal preserves.
Audubon Bird Houses and Bird Feeders - Support National Audubon and nesting birds with a bird house for every type of yard or bird.
Learn About Birds
Bird Guide - Apps are nice, but a bird guide book is great for identification and comparison and just bird browsing - this guide from National Audubon provides a comprehensive overview on the many good guides available.
What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing—What Birds Are Doing, and Why - This recent book is great for the birder who wants to know how birds live - from eating, to nesting and migration.
Gardening and the Environment
For anyone interested in nature and gardening for birds, here are some books we recommend.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Birdscaping in the Midwest: A Guide to Gardening With Native Plants to Attract Birds
The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden
Support our Friends
Gifts by friends of CAS, speakers we’ve hosted, or books we’ve read in our book club.
A GREAT GIFT FOR THE KIDS (or Kids at Heart) IN YOUR LIFE! 2 children’s books tell the story of Monty and Rose, our beloved Great Lakes Piping Plovers: Check out both books by Tamima Itami, the “Plover Mother”.
Ball & Feather (athletic wear, stickers and more) will be donating 10% of sales to CAS’ River Park Bird Habitat for the remainder of the year if the discount code GIVE10GET10 is used. You will also get 10% off your order.
Bringing Back the Birds - Award Winning Photography by Chicagoan Owen Deutsch
Sparrow Envy, Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts, by J. Drew Lanham Hub City Press, 2021
FROM MY JAMAICAN GULLY TO THE WORLD: The environmental journey of Audrey Peterman
The Home Place, Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature
Have Fun with Birds
Staying inside more? Us too, and these bird games and puzzles keep us busy and birdy.
The 2023 Birds of Montrose Point - a full color wall calendar of beautiful photos taken at Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary by Chicago’s @thebirdherder. All proceeds go to Chicago Audubon Society.
Wingspan - This fun board game has been called the birder’s Monopoly.
Stuffed animals from World Wildlife Fund - Great gifts for small children to start them on the road to conservation, and support a good cause.
Audubon Bird Puzzles and Bird-opoly
Birds of North America Puzzle - Cornell Lab of Ornithology - if they are out of stock at the Cornell site, often you can find their puzzles carried by other retailers.
Tony Fitzpatrick - The noted Chicago artist’s webshop features posters and puzzles of his extraordinary Chicago-centric, bird-centric artworks! Fabulous as gifts or for yourself.
All of the above
Audubon Gift Center has a great selection of gifts from apparel, trinkets, toys, and adoption of specific bird species for conservation work.
The American Bird Conservancy has a fun online store with equipment, jewelry, household items and more.
DoneGood - General products, representing small eco friendly companies.
Wildlife Conservation Network - Branching out from birds? That’s allowed - here you’ll find gifts for purchase from various international wildlife conservation organizations that help elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and more.
Shop Local Chicago
BlackShopFriday - Opening on Black Friday, this website provides a guide to local Black-owned businesses.
Semicolon - Chicago’s only Black-owned woman’s bookstore.
Laurie Shaman Ceramics - Expressive, hand-built porcelain tabletop and wall work.
Kido - With a focus on representation and inclusivity, this Black owned kid’s shop carries fun clothes, toys and books, online only for now, with shipping or south Loop pick up.
Gifts from Chicago Black-Owned Businesses - The Chicago Tribune put together this list which is eclectic, from Black card games, to gold watches.
