12 Days of Christmas Gifts: Day Two—The Birder

It seems like saying "Buy Local" has become the in thing to do, but for small businesses in our area, there is nothing new about shopping locally. For the next 12 days, we're going to post an item each day showcasing some of the great businesses in Edgewater and Davidsonville.

Day Two: A few years back (in 2000), there was controversy over the sounds played during a PGA golf tournament that was televised by CBS Sports. Birders called foul (not fowl) when they heard the chirping of the canyon wren during the Buick Open in Michigan. The problem? The canyon wren only lives on the west coast.

For birders, these distinctions are important. They study bird songs and migratory patterns. They keep lists of birds they've seen and when and where they've seen them. They love to have birds coming to their house to feed.

For this kind of person we are stopping on day two of our local search for gifts at in Edgewater. The person who stocks their wild bird section is either married to a birder or is a birder. They have an outstanding collection of feeders, both commercially made ($10 to $50) and handcrafted ($40 and up). The Droll Yankee Collection feeder is guaranteed not to allow squirrels to feed ($125 to $174). There are winter-themed feeders including a white, wire-mesh snowman ($25)

They also have a good selection of bird seed to attract specific breeds of bird.

For the young birder, you can get a singing toy Audubon Society bird ($10). Yes, it sings the right song for its breed. They have delicate glass Christmas tree ornaments ($10 to $15) and birdbaths ($75 and up).

Finally, they have all kinds of birding accessories, like stained glass ornaments to keep birds from flying into sliding glass doors ($10) and mousepads for the computer ($13) so that you can keep track of your birding list. 

For the birder on your list, there is no better place locally than Ace.