Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder review: A camera that’s not just for the birds

Bird watching looks like a kind of rites of passage as you grow old. You attain a sure age and increase—you instantly like learning our avian amigos. I’ve, apparently, reached that age. But I don’t at all times have time to tromp by way of fields with binoculars to catch fleeting feathers. Luckily, fowl watching nowadays is extraordinarily straightforward because of the arrival of fowl feeder cameras. These gadgets are constructed with compact, weather-resistant cameras that usually detect movement to snap photographs and movies when a fowl involves feast. They present close-up views of the snacking species that wouldn’t be potential some other manner.

One of the extra in style fowl feeder cameras—Bird Buddy—was launched as a Kickstarter and has taken the world of fowl feeder cameras by storm. It affords a lovely but sensible design and pairs with an easy- and fun-to-use app. The Bird Buddy camera permits you to seize high-quality photographs and movies of birds that go to your feeder, and AI even identifies them for you. I’ve had one up for a number of months to place it by way of its paces and have been impressed with the system.

Overview

• The Bird Buddy is a modern-looking fowl feeder with a detachable camera that robotically snaps photographs and movies of birds that come to snack. 
• The easy-to-use app notifies you when you’ve gotten a customer and robotically identifies over 1,000 species of birds.
• The feeder holds 3.5 cups of birdseed and comes with a scoop.
• It comes with a number of alternative ways to mount the feeder. Additional equipment can be found for buy individually.
• A Bird Buddy Pro membership unlocks sure app options and better video high quality and prices $2.50 month-to-month for an annual membership or $2.99 for a month-to-month plan. 
• The base-level Bird Buddy prices $239, however we propose upgrading to the model with a photo voltaic roof for limitless battery life for $299.

Pros

• Attractive, trendy design
• Very little meeting required
• Lots of equipment accessible
• App is simple and enjoyable to make use of
• AI options robotically establish birds and different critters
• Livestream is out there
• Records high quality, highly-detailed photographs and movies
• Holds loads of birdseed
• Camera is detachable for straightforward washing
• Optional photo voltaic roof does away with charging the battery
• Bird Buddy gives frequent updates

Cons

• Requires a WiFi connection
• Water swimming pools in the fowl feeder, leading to moldy birdseed
• Some options are locked behind a subscription paywall

Verdict

The Bird Buddy is one in every of the finest fowl feeder cameras accessible because of its wonderful app usability, superior AI, and high-quality photos and movies. The modern design is simple to put in, clear, and fill, and the detachable camera is a pleasant addition. The reliance on WiFi received’t work for everybody, however smart-home gadgets are more and more frequent, and it permits for rapid entry to your camera’s feed.

Bird Buddy setup

Setting up the Bird Buddy includes two elements: Connecting to a WiFi router together with the app and bodily putting in the fowl feeder. The Bird Buddy doesn’t supply any onboard storage, so that you’ll want entry to a WiFi connection to make use of the camera and AI options. It makes use of an 802.11 b/g/n connection at 2.4 GHz plus Bluetooth for connection to the app. You’ll wish to set up the Bird Buddy app and pair your camera to the app earlier than putting in the fowl feeder in your yard. 

I had substantial points pairing my Bird Buddy to my WiFi and connecting it to the app, and needed to name buyer help for help. Luckily, the buyer help staff was extremely useful and affected person in working by way of the troubleshooting, and we finally acquired all of it arrange. It is value noting that I had an early mannequin, so Bird Buddy has probably solved a few of these points to make the pairing course of smoother.

Physical set up is easy, relying on how and the place you place your fowl feeder. You can dangle it, mount it to a one-inch pole with the included backside mount, or buy a separate wall mount for attaching to fences or partitions. The camera slots proper into the designated slot, and it’s straightforward to plug it into the photo voltaic roof (when you decide for that). 

Bird Buddy design & construct high quality

The Bird Buddy fowl feeder contains a modern, trendy design with easy curves. Though seems are subjective, I believe it seems way more polished than different fowl feeder cameras. It’s accessible in blue or vibrant yellow. Bird Buddy says it contains a “bird-friendly design,” although it doesn’t specify what precisely which means. The perch contains a raised fowl footprint sample, offering some grip for talons. 

The birdseed compartment—which holds 3.8 cups—is enclosed by clear plastic on each side, permitting you and the birds to see the seed stage inside. A again door at the prime opens to fill the fowl feeder up, although it requires cautious maneuvering to get the seed inside and not spill it all over the place since it’s a fairly small opening. The complete again additionally comes off for simpler cleansing. 

Bird feeders and fowl feeder cameras are, naturally, out of doors gadgets. As a end result, they must be sturdy, rugged, and constructed to resist the components. The Bird Buddy ticks these marks properly. It is made of latest and recycled BPA-free plastic and feels stable and durable. I’ve had it up for a handful of months, and after a fast cleansing, it seems model new. That’s even regardless of the intense Florida solar always beating down on it.

Water points

My foremost frustration with the design of the Bird Buddy is relating to conserving rain out. There are holes in the backside that drain water in the occasion of rain, however they’re extraordinarily tiny. Of course, that retains the small seeds from falling out. Butt hose similar seeds can clog the holes, stopping thorough draining. Also, the protecting roof helps maintain some rain out however doesn’t prolong past the feeder very a lot. If there’s any wind blowing the rain, it should find yourself in the feeder. As a end result, I had points with water saturating the birdseed and mildew forming. 

Granted, this can be a perform of the place I reside in Florida—a state the place robust thunderstorms are a near-daily prevalence in the summer time and humidity ranges are intense. I needed to change the birdseed each week due to the molding. Birds do not like moldy seeds, so I don’t get as many guests. That’s very true if I don’t keep on prime of cleansing issues out. It additionally implies that I’m dumping out seed usually and cleansing the feeder ceaselessly. Neither of those is good and retains birds away for longer. It could also be much less of a difficulty with completely different birdseed mixes or places, but it surely has severely restricted the variety of birds I entice. 

Camera module particulars

The Bird Buddy’s camera is housed inside a plastic case. It is weather-resistant, although Bird Buddy doesn’t present an IP score. It does say that it could actually function in temperatures between -5°F and 120°F. As a end result, it should work in most places all through the 12 months. The camera module measures 5.1 x 2 x 1.5 inches and matches securely in the fowl feeder with the assist of a magnet in the again.

The camera takes five-megapixel photographs and 720p HD live-streamed video. It is able to 1080p video clips, although you’ll must pay for a Bird Buddy Pro membership ($2.50 monthly for an annual membership or $2.99 monthly for a month-to-month plan). The 120-degree discipline of view is large sufficient to seize birds hanging out on the facet of the feeder. There’s additionally a built-in microphone for recording fowl songs as properly, which is a enjoyable addition.

Motion detection

Bird Buddy additionally constructed a laser movement detector into the camera. This senses motion on the perch and triggers the camera to take photographs or movies when a customer is current (very similar to a wi-fi safety camera). I don’t have my fowl feeder in a location the place I can simply maintain watch to check how properly the movement detection works. But each time I heard a fowl making noise, I acquired a “postcard” (Bird Buddy’s manner of telling you a fowl was at your feeder), so it appeared just delicate sufficient.

You can change to Power Saver Mode in the app settings if you’d like fewer notifications or preserve battery. Or activate Frenzy Mode to see something and the whole lot, although you’ll should pay for a Pro membership. 

Power

For energy, the Bird Buddy camera makes use of a 4000 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Bird Buddy says it should final between 5 and 15 days. Of course, that will depend on what number of photographs it takes, how a lot you stream dwell video, and the climate. When it wants a cost, it makes use of a USB-C cable. I used to be utilizing the photo voltaic roof, which ends up in infinite battery life. If you wish to avoid wasting cash and don’t decide for the photo voltaic roof, the camera is absolutely detachable. That means you received’t must deliver the complete fowl feeder (together with any tiny creatures or germs) inside for charging.

Bird Buddy app

I’ve been very impressed with the Bird Buddy app throughout my testing. It is well-designed in design and usefulness, with many playful parts. It is intuitive to make use of and straightforward to seek out what you want in a short time, at the same time as you’re getting used to it. It’s clear and minimal, with out too many further issues occurring.

The app makes use of AI to robotically establish over 1,000 species, which incorporates squirrels and uncommon birds. Unfortunately, I’ve solely had Red-Winged Blackbirds at my feeder, so I haven’t been in a position to take a look at how correct the AI identification is past that single species. But it at all times acquired the Red-Winged Blackbird proper, so there’s that. 

When a fowl visits your feeder, the app notifies you with a “postcard.” These postcards are then saved to your gallery so you possibly can pull them again up anytime. They may even present a number of photographs or movies of the similar fowl in the event that they stick round for a bit. Should there be photographs in a set that aren’t value saving, you possibly can discard them to maintain your gallery from getting too cluttered.

Your gallery is sorted by fowl sort. Tapping on every allows you to open all photographs and movies the camera has captured over time of that exact species. The web page for every fowl species will even present info on that fowl so that you could be taught extra. That contains character sort, what they eat, the place they’re usually discovered, how huge they’re, and what they sound like. For instance, the Red-Winged Blackbird web page tells me that they’re brawlers, open lovebirds, and social butterflies who wish to eat bugs and seeds and are as huge as a slice of pizza.

Beyond content material out of your feeder, you possibly can see photographs and movies from feeders worldwide in a number of alternative ways. First, you possibly can add some to your listing of feeders and obtain postcards from them like it’s your personal feeder. However, if you wish to add multiple feeder for greater than 72 hours, you’ll want a Pro membership.

If you don’t wish to add a feeder, you possibly can nonetheless scroll by way of photographs and movies from the group. It’s like social media just for fowl content material. Birdbuddy TV is a video feed of publicly shared movies from Bird Buddy customers. Or you possibly can scroll by way of photographs from the group, applauding individuals’s outcomes. You may even assist establish species by tapping the Wingbuddy hyperlink at the prime of the Community web page. 

Image & video high quality

A fowl feeder camera doesn’t do a lot good if the photographs aren’t clear sufficient so you possibly can really see your avian guests. The five-megapixel decision might not appear very spectacular, particularly in comparison with smartphones and devoted cameras. While you received’t have the ability to print these photos to poster dimension by any means, the camera does supply loads of high quality for viewing in your telephone. 

The photos are clear and sharp, particularly when the fowl hangs out on the perch. The camera can’t focus a lot nearer than that, although. My foremost customer favored to sit down proper in the birdseed, so it was ceaselessly out of focus, however even nonetheless, I might see good quantities of element with vibrant colours. The auto publicity total does nice, even in extraordinarily high-contrast lighting conditions. There have been occasions that the fowl was blurry from shifting throughout the publicity, however that wasn’t the norm. 

The Bird Buddy video high quality can also be actually good. The footage is obvious and well-exposed. If you need higher-quality video, you possibly can improve to a Bird Buddy Pro membership, although I’ve not examined it, so I can’t touch upon how significantly better that video seems. 

So, who can buy the Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder? 

Bird feeder cameras have gotten an increasing number of in style, with new choices seeming to pop up usually. Spending $299 (for the photo voltaic roof model) could appear expensive for a fowl feeder camera. But the Bird Buddy is priced equally to different gadgets, together with its closest competitor, the Netvue Birdfy Pro. So, what makes the Bird Buddy stand out? 

The Bird Buddy features a sturdy but engaging construct, an built-in photo voltaic panel for infinite battery life, a number of mounting choices, and an easy-to-clean design with a detachable camera, which supplies it the edge for most customers. It’s additionally remarkably straightforward to put in, with basically no meeting past popping the camera into the feeder. Add to that the easy-to-use and enjoyable app with minimal options behind a paywall, and it takes a transparent lead. It’s a related system that makes you are feeling a bit extra related with the pure world. If you have an interest in keeping track of the fowl species in your space, it’s exhausting to beat Bird Buddy.