Tag Archives: smart bird feeder

Birds, birds and more birds

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Cardinal visiting @birdbuddy

I got my first Cardinal visit to my Bird Buddy.

After waiting patiently from January until now for a new solar panel for my Bird Buddy AI bird feeder with a camera, I made the executive decision to take it out of storage, charge it up and use it without the solar panel roof.

I emailed the company and they said I should receive it this month. Until then, I’m enjoying Bird Buddy and have to charge the camera every four or five days.

I’ve written about Bird Buddy before. You can read those posts HERE and HERE if you missed them.

My son works for a crowdfunding company that helped raise money and marketed Bird Buddy. I think it was one of their more successful campaigns.

In one of my prior stories I wrote about my trouble setting up Bird Buddy. There was an awkward small space to plug in the charger or solar panel. I found it frustrating and I had to get my husband to help me. However, when I set up my 91-year-old dad’s Bird Buddy, he cleverly showed me you can plug in the camera before you put it inside the feeder! Duh!

This is a House Finch who can eat a lot of sunflower seeds!

Bird Buddy takes “postcards” (these two photos are examples.) There was an update to the software and now there are videos, too. It works with an app on your smartphone, identifies birds, gives details and you can play their songs and calls.

Here’s a video of a House Sparrow and Cardinal competing for the bird feeder:

Bird fight!

What birds do you have in your neck of the woods? Which are your favorites?

Testing my Bird Buddy

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Bird Buddy smart bird feeder

My Bird Buddy arrived.

My son told me about Bird Buddy. The company he works for helped get it off the ground. It took more than a year to arrive due to supply chain issues.

I was almost ready to give up on it. I ordered one for myself and one for my dad — for last year’s Christmas presents. Now it’s here in time for this year’s Christmas.

I had difficulty with the assembly. Putting one little screw in the back of the camera to fasten it to the bird feeder got the better of me. I have shaky hands so I asked my husband to give it a try. He was able to get it done.

Also, the solar panel roof had to be plugged into the camera but the space was so tiny that my fingers got in the way. I managed after many tries.

Screenshot from the Bird Buddy website.

What so special about Bird Buddy? It’s a smart bird feeder that takes photos of birds who come to visit. It also identifies them. You can live stream from your phone, too. It sends notifications when visitors arrive. Plus, I ordered mine with a solar roof, so I shouldn’t have to take it inside to charge it.

One way to describe a Bird Buddy is a bird feeder with a solar powered Ring Camera.

Now all I need are some bird visitors.

Bird Buddy box

This is the box it came in. It was mostly assembled except for the two things I mentioned above. I had to charge the camera and pair it with my iphone. That went smoothly.

Live stream from Bird Buddy

This is a screenshot of a livestream from my phone. The Bird Buddy looks back at our home. It’s a pretty good camera. Come on birds — I’m waiting.

Have you ever heard of a smart bird feeder before? Have you ever participated in crowdfunding? For what type of product?

Gila woodpecker in my bird buddy

My first visitor. A Gila Woodpecker. Of course. They are bully birds that drain the nectar from my hummingbird feeder, create nests in our saguaro and scare other birds away.