I bought a spotting scope with a tripod for one nice older couple. Ended up setting it up on the kitchen table and the lady of the house could watch her birds on the back fence like they were in the room. Later I gave her a guide to birds that were native to her area and she would check off each type when she saw one. Her husband told me that she use to sit there and drink coffee and watch the birds off and on for hours a day. He never forgot the gift. Both are sadly gone now.