Okay, I have found a few more items that would be great gifts for those who are bird inclined. I've also added some bird organizations to the list as I was rightfully taken to task for excluding those great gift opportunities.
One is this REALLY awesome book called Owls of the North that just came out by Minnesota birder Dave Benson. The publisher had a table at the Paper Session on Saturday and I got a chance to check it out. At first glance, I thought this was a kids books, but it has great information and unbelievable photos. It covers the owl species you would find in Minnesota, but some of the species--like great horned owl can be found all over the US. It covers basic northern owl natural history, hunting habits, studies, albinos, and the irruption of 2004 - 2005. A great book for owl enthusiasts of all ages.
And then I got an email from Birder's World that they are offering a t-shirt for sale with an image of Samantha the arctic phase great horned owl at The Raptor Center that I took! Whoot. Above is the back of the shirt.
And here is the front of the shirt. If you like it, you can order it from Birder's World Cafe Press page. UPDATE: Birder's World just added a girl sized t-shirt too.
Speaking of The Raptor Center, they would make a great place to make a donation (especially if you have been enjoying following the saga of injured peregrine falcon 568). You can adopt one of our education birds (imagine adopting a turkey vulture for your mother-in-law) and you get a color photo of the bird, a free tour and opportunity to visit the bird you adopted, a certificate, and the raptor's bio.
Operation Migration has both a membership program and their Mile Maker (purchase a mile of crane migration). Supporting members will receive the INformation magazines, the EarlyBird email, and member pricing on selected Operation Migration merchandise. You might also take a peek at the gift store, they have some cute crane shirts and jewelery.
The Peregrine Fund has a neat gift shop with some great books and pins. Some of the raptor pins I have, but I just found a red-tailed hawk pin that totally rocks. Oh, and um, should Non Birding Bill or any friends or family members be reading this...um, I know a certain birdchick that would just totally love something along the lines of this nifty goshawk hat...especially since my harpy eagle hat has been commandeered by a an NBB. And if you are planning on doing a lot of shopping at P Fund, you might want to become a member, you get 10% off of the gift shop and it helps support raptor reintroductions like California condors, harpy eagles, and aplomado falcons.
Audubon is another organization that needs support and for those in the Minnesota area, there are three great guides about where to go birding in the state that just came out that were put together by several Minnesota birders (like me and Laura Erickson): Minnesota River Valley Birding Trail; North Shore Birding Trail: Duluth to Grand Portage; and the latest, Great River Birding Trail: Mississippi River from Headwaters to the Minnesota – Iowa Border.
Does anyone know of any other non profits that have some cool gift shops with some cool bird merchandise?