Everything you need for backyard bird-watching
From a feeder to a field guide
1. Brome Squirrel Buster Standard ($43)
Bring the birds to your backyard with this best-selling squirrel-proof feeder. A squirrel's weight will lower a shroud, blocking access to the seeds. Brome offers several versions, including a finch feeder and one for suet. Buy it at Amazon.
2. Peterson Field Guide to Birds ($26)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Roger Tory Peterson's field guide to the birds of North America deserves a spot on your windowsill. Range maps help simplify identification, and the "sharp and detailed" illustrations point to species' distinguishing features. Buy it at Amazon.
3. Nikon Prostaff 3S ($120)
High-end binoculars often cost more than $2,000, but you can find a great pair for less than $200. Nikon's lightweight 8x42 binoculars "blew reviewers away," offering unmatched clarity, brightness, and color rendition in this price range. They're also fog- and waterproof. Buy it at Amazon.
4. Field Notes Original Kraft Notebook ($10 for 3)
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You'll want a logbook for recording bird sightings, and Field Notes' classic memo book offers "the best combination of paper quality, durability, style, and ruling options that will actually fit in your pocket," writes Kevin Purdy at The Wirecutter. Buy it at Amazon.
5. Swarovski Optik dG ($2,310)
To be free of binoculars, a field guide, and a camera, consider investing in this new high-tech monocular. It sends photos of the birds you spot to Cornell University's Merlin Bird ID app for automatic identification and logging. Buy it at Swarovski Optik.
Editor's note: Every week The Week's editors survey product reviews and articles in websites, newspapers, and magazines, to find cool and useful new items we think you'll like. We're now making it easier to purchase these selections through affiliate partnerships with certain retailers. The Week may get a share of the revenue from these purchases.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published