Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
Products are chosen independently by our editors. Purchases made through our links may earn us a commission.
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
This excellent all-around smart bird feeder stands up to squirrels and takes crystal clear pictures and videos of backyard birds while they feed. Read More
A camera upgrade from the OG Bird Buddy offers high-def images and videos, a larger field of view, more detail, and a high-fidelity microphone. Read More
Bird Buddy's hummingbird feeder sets a high bar across the industry with top-quality photo and video capture, even for fast-moving birds. Read More
This sturdy smart bird feeder won't let squirrels or raccoons take it down. Camera offers a clear picture, and solar panel charges nicely. Read More
The FeatherSnap smart bird feeder is a sturdy, solid choice, especially if you're already comfortable recognizing birds on your own. Read More
Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI
Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder PRO
Bird Buddy Smart Hummingbird Feeder Pro
Soliom BF08
FeatherSnap Scout
Other Smart Bird Feeders We Tested
How to Choose the Best Smart Bird Feeder
Which Smart Bird Feeder Is Right for You?
Tips for Getting the Best Results From a Smart Bird Feeder
How Much Do Smart Bird Feeders Cost?
What You Should Know About Smart Birdfeeders
Why You Should Trust Our Expertise
What Other Reviewers Are Saying About the Best Smart Bird Feeder
What Owners Are Saying About the Netvue Birdfy
Read More About Birds and Other Backyard Hobbies on Reviewed
Welcome to our backyard/makeshift outdoor testing lab. We tangled with solar panels, wall-mount brackets, solid trees, and a few bird feeder poles to research the best smart bird feeders on the market. We also charged a lot of batteries, messed around with AI recognition, and set up enough security cameras to rival the CIA.
But testing smart bird feeders didn’t go as planned. While we imagined this would be an idyllic time with birdsong and soaring cardinals, we got a battle of wills with a hungry raccoon and squirrels unphased by alarms, bright lights, and cayenne pepper. Yes, we captured numerous feathered friends with cameras on our array of bird feeders. We also learned that there are some definite quirks and annoyances to this modern spin on old-fashioned bird feeders.
Soaring to the front of the flock is the Netvue Birdfy Feeder (available at Amazon for $169.99) , which wins our Best Smart Bird Feeder overall award for its sheer plethora of ways to mount it and feed birds, and provide a clear picture both day and night. Netvue has also priced this nicely.
For newbie birdwatchers who want to identify the tweeters in their backyard, Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder PRO (available at Amazon) offers the best AI bird identification and the best camera of the smart feeders we tested. If you've been wanting to buy a bird feeder, now is a great time to shop.
The Netvue Birdfy is easy to load up with birdseed, whether you’re using black oil sunflower seeds or a nut and berry mix. You simply flip open the roof and pour the seed in.
So many reasons contributed to the Netvue bird feeder winning the top spot in our guide to smart bird feeders.
First off, it comes with a solar panel. This means you don’t have to remove the camera to charge it. The camera’s 1080p picture quality is quite clear day and night. Wi-Fi is simple to connect to.
Netvue’s exclusive smart security app is free or costs $4.99 per month, depending on whether you buy the AI version (which we tested) or the Lite version. It sends alerts when birds land to feed, and you can stream live video. The app will even try to identify the type of bird, although Netvue’s attempts at this were not as accurate as the Bird Buddy or the Soliom BF08—and honestly, some guesses made us laugh out loud.
In the Netvue app, you can look at your Birdfy smart camera, and see all notifications for a particular date. There is also an AI function that identifies your bird visitors.
From a practical standpoint, the Netvue is easy to load with birdseed, whether you’re using black oil sunflower seeds or a nut and berry mix. You flip open the roof and pour the seed in, which slides down into a tray.
When mounting the Netvue, there are three options. The feeder includes a bracket for mounting to a wall, a strap for wrapping around a tree or post, and hose clamps for mounting to a pole. We used the strap method. It is the easiest to use for all the smart feeders we tested.
While its build is adequate, it is more sturdy than the Soliom or the Bird Buddy. While the feeder stood strong, including its durable perch, it didn’t take long for squirrels to demolish its Wi-Fi antenna—though it still worked, even though it ended up just dangling.
The Netvue is the only smart bird feeder of the test group that comes with a baffle, but it doesn't execute well. The hole is small, the snaps are tough to secure, and too narrow to stop squirrels from climbing right around it.
Despite a few negatives, our overall experience with the Netvue Birdfy AI was excellent! Read our full Netvue Birdfy review.
High quality camera
Multiple ways to mount
Bonus attachments
Inaccurate AI recognition
A glimpse at a tufted titmouse from behind the lens of Bird Buddy PRO's Nature Cam 2, adjacent to a photo of the Bird Buddy PRO bird feeder.
Bird Buddy's Smart Hummingbird Feeder Pro again sets the standard in the smart bird feeder industry with a high-quality camera that wows.
Made of metal and acrylic, the Soliom smart bird feeder features a roof locks in and both it and the perch screw on tightly.
The camera of the FeatherSnap Scout smart bird feeder captures a tufted titmouse on its perch; the bird feeder filled with bird seed.
The FeatherSnap Scout smart bird feeder has many pros. It’s as sturdy as they come, challenging the Soliom for strength of build. It has not one but two compartments to fill with different bird seeds, and they're easily accessible under the roof. It also securely snaps shut, making it hard for a raccoon to open. Everything you need to mount the feeder to a tree is included. Camera clarity, both day and night on its live feed, as well as both video and snapshot capture, is excellent.
You can identify birds two ways with the FeatherSnap app: First, manually, or second, with AI software.
What makes this smart bird feeder different from the rest is its bird identification app. Others in our test pool use software that examines a photo of a visiting bird, the Scout’s app asks the user if they recognize the bird species. If not, the user can choose to identify with Bird ID (a series of questions the user answers manually to prompt an ID) or with AI (which displays a grid of potential candidates for the user to match). Once ID’d, the user can save it to the app’s Bird Book. While this is an interesting method of identification, it leaves a lot more room for error, especially for a user just starting to get into birdwatching as a hobby.
FeatherSnap’s Scout’s only true con is that it's easy for squirrels to squirrel-watch, with a wide base, sturdy perch, and generous feed holes. We had a squirrel clean this feeder out over a few hours one afternoon.
Sturdy
Includes solar panels
Two seed dispensers
Clunky approach to AI bird ID
Easy access for squirrels
We’ve seen many smart bird feeders at CES, but one of the first was the Bird Buddy back in January 2022. We’ve been dying to test this bird feeder with a camera ever since.
The adorable, contemporary design appealed to us first—sorta Scandi in style. It comes in either sunny yellow or bold teal. The feeder is small compared to other smart bird feeders on the market right now. It’s constructed well, and there are no delicate attachments that backyard critters could destroy. Plus, you can fill it with seeds easily thanks to the included cup. This may seem silly, but it is a huge boon.
As our choice for the Best AI Recognition, it should come as no surprise that Bird Buddy’s app and ID software are spot on. Despite water spots occasionally popping up on the camera lens, we didn’t experience any mislabeled birds, even on rainy and gray days.
Bird Buddy’s exclusive app is a delight to use, especially for freshman birders, as it “unlocks” new species and puts them into your “collection.” The app takes still photos and videos. It doesn’t double as a smart home security app as the others do, so you don’t have to wade through extra features and functions in search of your American Goldfinch pics and videos. Unfortunately, the camera sleeps in the dark and lacks night vision.
In the Bird Buddy smartphone app, you can see all your bird visitors clearly labeled and identified on the Collection screen, while all new visitors pop right into your inbox.
We had two gripes with Bird Buddy. Firstly, we tested the base model, which does not include a solar panel. While you can buy a solar roof for an additional $70, all the other smart feeders we tested included a solar panel in their base price. This means you have to detach the feeder’s camera and bring it inside to charge it (via the included USB-C cable) every week or so—during testing, it never lasted the full 15 days listed on Bird Buddy’s website.
Our second issue revolved around mounting the Bird Buddy feeder itself. What a pain! Among the testing pool, it is the only feeder that mounts from the bottom instead of the back. The included plastic mount base easily screws on using four included screws. Bird Buddy indicates that a standard-size bird feeder pole will fit into the mount, but after a lot of searching, we could not locate a pole, PVC pipe, wooden dowel, or metal pole at our local Home Depot or Lowe’s that would fit into the hole.
Finally, we took the mount and the feeder to a local birder store where we were able to get a standard mounting pole and jam it in to fit properly. (Bird Buddy also includes a rope so you can hang the feeder if you choose, but it was too mobile, and the birds in our yard hated it.)
If you can find a standard mounting pole and afford to sport a solar roof, the Bird Buddy makes an excellent choice of smart bird feeders.
High-quality camera
Excellent AI bird identification
Easy-to-use app
Modern design
No night vision
Mounting options need improvement
Solar roof not included
Very sturdy
Stands up to critters
Excellent camera quality
Solar panel included
Inaccurate AI recognition
Bamboo material does not stand up to weather
Heavy to mount
A popular Amazon purchase, the Harymor smart bird feeder, competes with specialty brands like Bird Buddy and Wasserstein in terms of build quality and video camera quality. We love that it has three solar panels—two built-in on the roof and one external—and that they are included in the base price of the bird feeder. We didn't even have to pre-charge the camera before mounting it. It charged in the sun and was ready to operate the next day.
Set up is incredibly easy via the Vico Home app; Harymor does not have a proprietary app. Notifications come fast and furious, but you can set both the sensitivity of motion detection and the number of notifications you want to receive, which is nice. It can save videos to the cloud or a microSD card, or you can download images from the app to your mobile phone's photo album.
Harymor's AI bird identification app misses the mark. It incorrectly identified a chickadee at a feeder in Massachusetts as an Amazon Kingfisher.
The top of the feeder flips open, allowing you to pour seed into the central cavity, which spills into the feed tray without overflowing. Harymor also includes two ways to mount the feeder: first, by screwing it into a tree or other vertical surface, or with a velcro band that wraps around. As with other feeders we've tested, the ideal place to mount the feeder is to a tree, which leaves it easily accessible to squirrels and raccoons. (You can remedy this by buying shelled seed laced with hot pepper, which critters hate, but birds love.)
What we don't love about this smart feeder is its bird identification app. It claims to detect both birds and humans. We've been notified many times that someone is in the backyard when, in fact, no one is—a startling ping when you're not at home, but your teen is. Also, it can and does try to identify birds to varying degrees of accuracy.
Clear, crisp picture
3 solar panels included
Easy to fill
AI identification app lacks accuracy
Clear camera picture
Comes with lots of extra attachments
No bird ID
Not as sturdy against raccoons
Camera detaches from unit for charging
Mounting equipment included
32G micro SD card included
No way to secure perch
No bird ID
Can't use on 5GHz network
Camera options align with popular smart home security brands
Fills easily
Flimsy build
| Model | Camera Resolution | Power Source | Bird ID Features | Subscription Required | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI | 1080p HD | Battery + solar panel included | Yes (AI-assisted) | Optional (app has free/paid tiers) | $$$ |
| Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder PRO | HD (HDR) | Battery (solar roof optional) | Yes (AI-assisted) | Varies (features may require plan) | $$$$ |
| Bird Buddy Smart Hummingbird Feeder Pro | HD | Solar-powered roof | Yes (AI-assisted) | Varies | $$$$ |
| Soliom BF08 | HD | Battery + solar panel included | Yes (in Soliom app) | Varies (app/cloud options) | $$$ |
| FeatherSnap Scout | HD | Battery + solar panel included | Yes (manual + AI-assisted) | Varies | $$$$ |
| Bird Buddy (base model) | HD | Battery (solar roof optional) | Yes (AI-assisted) | No (app included) | $$$ |
| Netvue Birdfy Bamboo Feeder | 1080p HD | Battery + solar panel included | Yes (AI-assisted) | Optional (app has free/paid tiers) | $$$$ |
| Harymor Bird Feeder with Camera | HD | Solar panels included (roof + external) | Yes (AI-assisted, mixed accuracy) | Varies (cloud storage/app plan) | $$$ |
| Birdkiss Smart Bird Feeder | HD | Battery + solar (included) | No | Optional (cloud storage via app) | $$$ |
| Baiyunsky Smart Bird Feeder | 1080p HD | Battery + solar panel included | No | Optional (cloud storage via app) | $$ |
| Wasserstein Bird Feeder Camera Case (camera not included) | Varies (depends on camera) | Varies (depends on camera) | Varies (depends on camera/app) | Varies (depends on camera/app) | $$–$$$ |
Price key: $$ = Under $200; $$$ = $200–$300; $$$$ = $300+
Note: Some features, including cloud storage and bird identification, may require a paid subscription.
If you’re still deciding, the sections below explain which features matter most and how much you can expect to spend.
Smart bird feeders pair traditional feeding with cameras, apps, and notifications that let you see birds up close. While features vary by model, these are the most important things to consider before buying.
Most smart bird feeders offer 1080p or 2K resolution, which is enough to identify birds and capture clear photos and videos. Look for a wide field of view so birds aren’t cropped out and night vision if you want footage after dark (though most birds are active during the day). Placement and lighting often matter more than resolution alone.
Smart bird feeders typically run on rechargeable batteries, with many offering solar panels to extend battery life. Solar charging works best in yards with consistent sunlight, while battery-only models may need recharging every few weeks, depending on activity.
The app controls how often you interact with your feeder. The best apps offer:
Some features, like cloud storage or bird identification, may require a subscription.
Most smart bird feeders use 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. If your feeder is far from your router, notifications may be delayed or unreliable, so strong outdoor Wi-Fi coverage is key.
Larger seed reservoirs mean fewer refills, while feeder design affects how many birds can eat at once and whether larger birds block the camera. Easy refilling and cleaning also make a big difference in day-to-day use.
Different feeders work better for different types of birdwatchers.
Black oil sunflower seed attracts the widest variety of birds, while nyjer seed is ideal for finches. Avoid low-quality mixes with filler grains birds tend to discard.
Mount feeders 5 to 10 feet off the ground near shrubs or trees so birds have nearby cover, but keep enough distance to deter predators. Avoid pointing the camera directly into the sun to reduce glare.
Using baffles, squirrel-resistant mounts, and careful placement can reduce unwanted visitors. Cleaning up spilled seed also helps.
Clean feeding ports regularly and wipe down the camera lens after storms. Keeping the feeder clean helps protect birds and improves video quality.
Smart bird feeders cost significantly more than traditional feeders, but pricing varies by features and performance.
These models usually offer basic HD cameras and limited smart features. Battery life may be shorter, and apps are often simpler, making them best for casual use.
Most smart bird feeders fall into this category, offering better cameras, more reliable apps, and often solar charging. This tier typically delivers the best balance of price and performance.
High-end models include sharper cameras, faster notifications, and more advanced bird identification tools. They’re best for frequent users and dedicated birders.
Keep in mind that some feeders charge ongoing subscription fees for cloud storage or AI-powered features, which can add to the long-term cost.
A smart bird feeder is a bird feeder with a camera that connects to Wi-Fi and streams video, captures photos, and performs other tricks. It allows the user an extremely close-up view of local bird species and their feeding habits, and, in some cases, can identify a bird for you.
Most feeders are mounted on poles, trees, or other surfaces, but are too heavy to hang like more traditional bird feeders. All have apps, some of which are exclusive and others that link into existing smart home security platforms, like VicoHome.
Just like a smartphone, the cameras need to charge, and they do so via a USB-C cable. All the feeders we tested have solar panels or solar roof options to keep the battery charged longer.
After charging the camera, pop it right into the Bird Buddy. Other feeders come with camera's permanently installed, but they also come with solar panels for easy charging.
In basic terms, the camera on a smart bird feeder connects wirelessly to your home’s internet. It can detect motion, and when it does, it turns on and captures the image directly in front of it. Most apps allow the user to select the level of detection, from low to high.
Most cameras capture 10-second video clips, though some let you choose a different length.
As for the bird-feeding features of the feeder, it’s pretty simple: Fill it with food, and the birds (and squirrels) will find it.
It depends. All of the smart bird feeders we tested offer some app functionality for free. A few are completely free, included with the purchase of the smart bird feeder, and others are exclusive to Bird Buddy’s app.
Others, such as Birdkiss and Soliom, use VicoHome. This security camera app offers real-time streaming but requires a monthly or annual subscription to save more than the most recent 72 hours of video footage.
Reviewed’s chief scientist, David Ellerby, Ph.D., has spent years researching bird physiology and is eager to answer some of the birdwatching world’s most popular questions, starting with how birds will know about a new feeder in your yard.
“Birds have excellent eyesight, and that's how they track down new food sources,” he explains. “If your feeder is hidden away, it will take birds a while to find it.”
If you want birds to show up ASAP, place feeders where they can see them easily.
“Even so,” says Ellerby, “it could still take birds a few days to learn there's a free meal available in your yard.”
Identifying birds can be tricky, and depending on where you live in the world, it will include a variety of species.
Your best bet is to invest in a birding guide, of which there are many.
Ellerby cautions, “Some guides assume you know roughly the type of bird you're dealing with, but if you don't know a finch from a sparrow, that's not much help.”
If you're a beginner, Ellerby recommends the National Audubon Society as a great resource, particularly their helpful app.
“The app takes basic information like the location, time of year, and size and color of the bird to narrow down a list of likely species,” he says. But when the app examines the feeder’s pictures of birds to identify them, it’s not always that accurate.
If you prefer a book, field guides for the whole country contain an overwhelming number of species. Guides specific to your region or state are much less intense.
Ellerby’s favorites are by the author Stan Tekiela. “He has user-friendly guides for most states that take a simple appearance-based approach to walk you through the bird ID process,” he says.
Consider your environment and the location of your home before buying a smart bird feeder; otherwise, you’ll have complete anarchy on your hands.
We tested smart bird feeders in a suburban neighborhood that leans slightly more toward the rural than the urban end of the scale. We had about four days of bird euphoria during our three weeks of testing before critters infiltrated the feeders. Unfortunately, we can’t say we were surprised.
Of the half-dozen feeders we tested, raccoons and squirrels vandalized all of them.
Four of the feeders mount to a vertical surface with flat, metal bracket mounts. Essentially, this means your mounting options include the wall of your house or a tree. Neither is ideal, the former because no one wants to screw into expensive siding on a permanent structure, and the latter because, well, critters live in and climb trees.
The remaining two feeders we tested offer other options—Bird Buddy can mount on top of a pole or hang; Netvue Birdfy can mount vertically with brackets, or on a pole. Squirrels do climb poles, but baffles can prevent their access, and you can buy a baffle at any home improvement or bird store. Unfortunately, you can’t use a baffle on a vertical surface or around a tree, which means nothing prevents a squirrel and raccoon feast. And that means you’ll spend a fortune on bird food.
All of the feeders include an array of critter deterrents, including alarms, sirens, bright white lights, and/or two-way communication so you can scream at them—and we did. These tactics rarely worked during our testing, and the squirrel would be back for more minutes later.
Make sure you have a plan before you spend $200 to $300 on a smart bird feeder, or you will regret it.
If watching squirrels and other critters shovel your fancy bird food down their gullets really starts to grate, then a simple squirrel-proof bird feeder might be the way to go. We like the Squirrel Buster Suet bird feeder and the Squirrel Buster Classic bird feeder.
The smart feeders we tested were no match for raccoons and squirrels. Damage included broken solar panel attachments, detached Wi-Fi antennae and bent mountings.
Most models we tested included solar panels with the purchase price of the smart bird feeder. While these solar panels are great for keeping the feeders’ batteries charged up, they’re also frequently manhandled or sat upon by visiting raccoons and squirrels.
Only one of the solar panels didn’t break permanently during our three-week testing period. Critters also often broke the fragile Wi-Fi antennas, leaving them hanging, literally.
With smart cameras, including outdoor security cameras, video doorbells, and bird feeders with cameras, come privacy concerns, especially when you're using a camera around your home that can record visitors, neighbors, and passers-by without their knowledge. Be mindful of where you place it in your yard and the content of any clips you post publicly.
While each bird feeder camera will have its own privacy practices, make sure to read the fine print on the one you purchase. In the case of the Bird Buddy, the camera range is as good as an outdoor security camera, but it doesn't come with the same privacy features, like motion or privacy zones; these let you define what areas the camera does or does not record and are fairly common with video doorbells and most cameras from big brands, which would apply to the Ring, Blink and Wyze options for the Wasserstein feeder). Bird Buddy uses end-to-end encryption for recordings, meaning no one else can view or access the clips as they're processed from the camera to the storage server. This keeps it more secure. We can also offer many tips to keep your smart home safe and secure.
Mounting the bird feeders to trees or poles is the only physical activity you need to do to enjoy this hobby!
Not to brag, but we spotted this trend coming before any of our competition, and we got the jump on it. Our testers have large backyards and even larger interest in feeding and watching backyard birds. Consequently, there was no need for anything super scientific in our testing process. We mounted each smart bird feeder according to its instructions, synced the camera to a Wi-Fi network, charged the batteries, and filled each feeder with food. Then we waited for the birds to come.
We also looked at special features, such as whether the bird feeders with cameras could run on solar power and the apps for each smart bird feeder. We looked at battery life, how easily birds could access the bird food, and whether or not the feeder was critter-proof.
After a couple of weeks of near-constant birdsong, $200 worth of bird food, and some nightly visitors, we had our answers. Not to mention an insider’s perspective on all the New England bird species!
Across the market, experts agree that the best overall smart bird feeder right now is the Netvue Birdfy, and we’ve gone ahead and done the research for you. While the research below comes from product review sites, we looked for comparisons from smaller organizations specializing in birds, but we could not find any.
Leigh Harrington has 25 years experience as a writer and editor for myriad print and digital publications.
At Reviewed, Harrington manages Reviewed's overall content, including areas of focus like home improvement, cleaning, gardening, cooking, smart home, organization, and parenting. She focuses on developing and editing consumer ed content, product reviews and buying guides, but she also writes, too.
Harrington is also an experienced travel writer, and has authored books including Fodor's Boston, 100 Things to Do in Boston Before You Die, and Colorful Cities Boston, an adult coloring book. She was a respected, longtime regional editorial director at Where travel guide, and has written for other publications including the US News & World Report, USA Today, Boston Herald, Newport Life, Exhale magazine, Huffington Post, and many more. www.leighharrington.com
Our team is here to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and experts obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
Shoot us an email