Listen up, birdverts: Birdbuddy just released some new video bird feeders, one of which is the cheapest the company has ever released. Check out the $100 Birdbuddy Nook (and a $160 solar version of the Nook) as well as the $220 Home.
The new devices replace the Birdbuddy Pro Solar, a product with similar specs but that went for a whopping $339. Each of the new cameras comes with 2K HDR cameras with a 135-degree field of view (up from 122 degrees on the Pro) and support for both landscape and portrait modes. If you’re not familiar with these gadgets, they’re what they sound like—birdfeeders with not-so-hidden cameras that automatically activate when a creature alights on their perches, giving you a more passive way to enjoy a little light avian voyeurism than your traditional intentional birding.
The Home is most similar to the original Pro, featuring a similar, more open perch design with a little overhanging roof and dual solar panels on top, but it otherwise sounds like an improvement in every way. It holds six cups of birdseed, up from 3.8 cups, and features 5GHz Wi-Fi in addition to the 2.4GHz of the Pro, which means it should be more responsive as long as it’s within range of your router’s 5GHz signal. Birdbuddy says the Home is also much faster when it comes to pairing with your phone or waking up to capture those avian goings-on.
The Birdbuddy Nook features the same 3.8-cup seed capacity as the older Pro and likewise only uses a slower but longer-range 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio. And it lacks the adjustable perch extender that lets the Birdbuddy Home accommodate larger birds.
Both of the new cameras come with free AI bird identification, which Birdbuddy says can spot 11,000 different species. You have to initiate this manually unless you subscribe to Birdbuddy Premium, which can identify birds automatically. The subscription starts at $70 a year and also adds the ability to name specific birds, unlimited AI chat for bird facts, and more.
It’s not all upside, though, as noted by The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy. One issue is you now have to bring the whole device in to recharge it—the camera isn’t removable. And despite the technically higher FOV, the new Birdbuddies actually produce narrower video in vertical orientation, and Tuohy found the resulting videos’ color wasn’t quite as vibrant as before. However, the addition of a horizontal orientation means they can offer a much wider FOV when you switch to it. Landscape mode wasn’t an option with the Pro. That said, this isn’t something you tweak in the Birdbuddy app; you have to manually rotate the camera.
The new Birdbuddy cameras are available now on Birdbuddy’s website. Fans of the older Pro won’t be able to buy that feeder camera there anymore, but it’s still in stock on Amazon, where it’s discounted to $240, as of this writing.
