About The Birding Booth

Polaroid photo: Lou Lou birding at the pond with binoculars, her granddaughter beside her — captioned 'an apprentice birder in training'

It started with a bird most people would've walked right past.

On a hike in North Carolina, a friend handed Lou Lou a pair of binoculars and pointed her toward a golden-crowned kinglet — a bird so small you'd never know it was there, let alone that it was beautiful. Through the lenses, the colors lit up. She'd been walking past birds her whole life and had never actually seen one.

That was the spark. (Birders call it your "spark bird." Ask one about theirs and clear your afternoon.)

One real pair of binoculars later, there was no going back.

Bird walks with Georgia Audubon — now Birds Georgia. A six-week master birders course, a stack of weekend field trips, and a test to earn the title. Guided walks across the Southeast. Trips with the Georgia Ornithological Society, chasing birds across the state. The kind of devotion that means up at 4am, birding in the rain, and quietly judging every TV show that plays the wrong call over the wrong bird.

Polaroid photo: Lou Lou on the beach at Jekyll Island in her Georgia Sea Turtle Center uniform, collected debris in hand — captioned 'on patrol, Jekyll Island'

And the birds were only the beginning.

For nine years — more than 700 volunteer hours — Lou Lou has served with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island: sea turtle walks and dawn patrols, ranger walks, and beach cleanups, helping visitors fall in love with the coast the way she fell for that first kinglet. Lou Lou's love for nature extends past birds — just like this site.

The Birding Booth is for people like her — and the people shopping for them.

Funny birding gifts and apparel for serious bird lovers: backyard feeder-watchers, life-listers, and the ones who'll drive three hours for a single sighting. Every design comes from actually knowing bird people — because we were raised by one.

So whether you're a certified bird nerd or just trying to find the perfect gift for one, welcome. Grab a pair of binoculars; there's more here than you'd think.

Inspired by, Lou Lou — master birder, sea turtle guardian, and best mom in the world.