Birdwatching for the Weary Homebody
I had a bird feeder a while back. It was one of my favorite things, my little island of nature and delight in the sea of drudgery that life has become.
No matter how bad my day might have been, I could always look out my window and watch the birds and squirrels having a party at the bird feeder. I kept it close to the house so I could see all my little bird friends up close and everything was just lovely until the other critters came. The feed that hit the ground attracted ants, mice, raccoons and all sorts of other stuff. It wasn’t long until they realized there was even more food to be had in the house right next to all the seeds, and that was the end of my bird feeder. I moved it to the far side of the yard and while that kept the unwanted creepy crawlies away from the house, I couldn’t really see the birds anymore. It was just not as much fun, and eventually the seed ran dry and the birds stopped coming.
I missed my little oasis of calm. Without the birds, things just weren’t as fun anymore. Then I found a neat solution to this dilemma when a friend started posting pics of really cute little birds super up close all over his Facebook. Turns out he had bought a Bird Buddy and was getting to know his local birds through the great motion-activated camera built into the feeder! I bought one immediately and I’ve been back in my bird feeder happy place ever since!
Chirp, You’re on Candid Camera!
Here’s the fundamental concept of the Bird Buddy: Take a classic hanging bird house style feeder and spruce it up, make it feel modern. Remove the classic “peg” style perch for the birds and replace it with a stage. Slap a big wide angle camera right in the middle of the feeder pointed at the stage and connect it to a motion sensor. Sync all of that up with an app that lets you watch and save any footage captured by the whole thing and as soon as a bird lands on the stage it’s lights, camera, action! Add in a little bird species identification system and you’ve got a literal singing dancing bird encyclopedia at your fingertips!
What’s in the Box?
What do you get when you order the Bird Buddy Pro Solar? I’m going to use the official listing here so I don’t miss anything as this thing was in my yard and covered in birds so fast I completely forgot to take stock of what I was dumping out of the box!
- AI-powered camera module
- Detachable solar roof
- Bird feeder housing
- USB-C charging cable
- Metal hanger / mounting hardware
- Seed scoop
It’s not a whole lot of bits and pieces, really, but it does take a little DIY energy to get it set up and working. I’d recommend giving the camera a good charge with the included cable before putting it all together. It comes with a small stand that you can screw down to a platform and a little wire-style hangar. If you have something flat to bolt it down to I’d recommend using the mount and watching video on the hangar can get a little wobbly.
The Bird Buddy App
The camera syncs with an app, and it’s actually pretty good! The setup takes you through a pairing sequence that should feel pretty familiar if you’ve got any other smart equipment. It connects to your Wi-Fi and your phone’s Bluetooth so you might need to be a wee bit tech savvy to get it going. If you’re not good with that sort of thing, this is a really fun little project to do with your kids, grandkids or even your neighbor if you are close like that, especially because you can share access to your feeder camera with other people if you want! It does offer a “premium membership” which I generally don’t like. Charging a monthly fee for something you already bought and own really rubs me the wrong way, but if that’s something you’re ok with, it does give you a lot of functionality.
Once you’re up and running, the app does a few things that really made me smile. Not only does the AI system identify the species of a bird sitting on your feeder, it can recognize individual birds! Like, if one Northern Cardinal stops by on Tuesday, and then comes back on Wednesday, it’ll know that specific bird and, get this, it lets you name each bird! Ok, I know some of you might not be as excited as I am here but this feature alone sells the whole product for me. I absolutely LOVE being able to name my little bird friends. When you name the video it automatically makes albums of that bird!
It also lets you run a live stream, so if you’re tired of scrolling nonsense videos on your socials and want something a little more relaxing you can just turn on the bird buddy app and watch your yard and hopefully catch nature as it happens live!
Accessories for Days
So you’ve got it set up and you’ve been enjoying the birds, but you’ve gotten a little tired of the usual birds, or maybe the seed chomping action has gotten a little dull and you want something different. Well the Bird Buddy has a pretty impressive range of additions and mods to use. From a perch extender to give the birds more space to congregate (if you have a really active yard the battle for seeds and perch space can get pretty crazy without it) to a suet holder to tempt in different types of birds, there are a ton of interesting things to clip onto the stage. If the bird feeder isn’t enough, you can change the entire housing! There is a hummingbird feeder and even a bird bath with a handy spot to clip the camera into which I personally thought was really neat. The options here are really extensive and they help keep the whole system fresh and fun!
The Specs
As usual, let’s break down the basic specs of the Bird Buddy Pro Solar.
Camera Specs
5 MP photo resolution
2K video recording
HDR support for better lighting contrast
122° field of view
Close focus range: 2.6–5.9 inches
Audio
Built-in high fidelity microphone
Power System
3800 mAh rechargeable battery
Detachable solar roof panel
Connectivity
Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz)
Bluetooth for setup/pairing
Physical Specs
9″ x 6.3″ x 6.9″
1.32 lbs (empty)
3.8 cup seed capacity (a bit less as the fill door opens a little awkwardly)
The Downsides
This thing is delightful when it works, but there are a few issues to be aware of. Firstly, the stage is pretty small. Considering one of their most commonly bought accessories is a perch extendor, that may be by design. This means that multiple birds landing to eat at once will almost always result in a tussle. Watching two or more birds fight it out in extreme close up on a wide angle lens is pretty intense and you’re going to get a lot of that if you have a busy yard. Another major issue is the seed capacity. It’s a small feeder with a relatively small amount of seed space and if you’ve had feeders in the past, you’ll know that means you’re going to be running out and filling this thing up constantly! Like, daily for me in the spring and fall. It honestly gets a little exhausting.
Another major downside for me was the “premium subscription,” which pay-gated some very basic features, like the ability to name your feeder. If you’re in a neighborhood where a few people have these, you’ll feel like a peasant not being able to differentiate your device.
Another issue is the Wi-Fi. If your feeder is far enough away from your house that the signal doesn’t reach it, this thing is pretty much useless. That means big yards only have a small area where these can be used. Luckily for me, I’m not fancy and don’t really have a big yard, so it worked fine for me.
Is This Thing For You?
For someone like me who loves having a bird feeder but can’t have it close to the house, it’s perfect. My Wi-Fi is good and my tolerance for apps and watching nature on my phone is high, so the Bird Buddy Pro Solar was a good purchase. The $149 price tag was high, and it gave me pause at the checkout screen, but I’m glad I got it.
If you are pinching pennies, don’t have a strong Wi-Fi setup, or you don’t like the idea of constantly filling up the seed basin every day, this might not be worth the cost. But if you love the idea of seeing your backyard in a new light, and you get stupidly excited about being able to name your backyard birds, this is 100% worth the cost!
