It additionally comes with further plastic flowers and just a little brush to scrub them with, and the app sends reminders as to when it is time to clear. As with the Hen Buddy Professional seed feeder, the sensor doesn’t all the time choose up each fowl that visits, which may positively be a bummer once you see one thing attention-grabbing out the window however it doesn’t present up within the app. Hopefully, this will probably be remedied on subsequent app updates.
A Distinctive Sensible Birdhouse
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
Birdfy
Nest Polygon Sensible Birdhouse
Birdfy’s new Polygon Sensible Birdhouse isn’t the primary sensible birdhouse available on the market, however it’s the most interesting-looking. The parallelogram-esque, turquoise-paneled form gained a Gold award at 2024’s French Design Awards, and it’s simple sufficient to mount on a pole, fence, or tree. All of the digicam tools is positioned in an easy-to-open rear hatch, and there’s even a distant management on the finish of a 10-foot wire to have the ability to cost (although it has a built-in photo voltaic panel, so that you probably gained’t have to) or reset the 1080p digicam.
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
It is easy to combine with the easy-to-use Birdfy app, which is prepared and ready to assemble a fowl’s shareable “story,” from meeting of the nest to hatching to fledgling, and at last “the end,” when the nest is deserted for the season. Notice that the digicam does emit an audible click on each time it is triggered by motion or the app, and the within is just a little bigger than most birds would naturally gravitate to. Our take a look at home did not appeal to any guests this yr, however a mission director for Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch mentioned it ought to solely be a matter of time.
Greatest App
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
Hen Buddy
Sensible Hen Feeder Professional
Hen Buddy’s latest improve appears to be like a lot the identical as its soon-to-be-phased-out authentic feeder, save for a snazzy new HDR digicam that may additionally shoot 2K HD video with slow-motion functionality. It has been going robust in my yard for over 4 months now. Along with having a visibly bigger and extra superior lens, the digicam’s now obtained a bigger focus vary, wider discipline of view, and high-fidelity microphone. (A subscription to Premium for $7.50 a month unlocks 2K Extremely with the next video bitrate, permitting for richer colours, sharper photos, and fewer background noise, however it’s completely usable with out this. )
The pictures aren’t almost as spectacular because the Birdfy Duo’s or Camojojo Hibird’s, and the digicam, frustratingly, solely captures a handful of the birds that go to. (The non-solar model is at present flagged as a steadily returned merchandise on Amazon as a result of each this and charging points, so I like to recommend the photo voltaic model.) However the app is a standout, with a user-friendly design and loads of useful alerts, like if a cat is detected close by, or if it is time to clear the feeder. It additionally serves you insights gathered over time, like what time sure species appear to choose to go to. (Finches apparently like to go to my yard at 10 am day by day.) The Hen Buddy additionally “sleeps” at evening and doesn’t appear to emphasise capturing pictures of individuals, so it would not make a good selection to double as a safety digicam. Each Hen Buddys work with 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi solely.
Screenshot courtesy of Kat Merck
Set up choices embody a hanger or common mount for a standard-size pole (not included). In case you stay in an space frequented by squirrels, I extremely advocate abiding by Hen Buddy’s “5-7-9” rule for siting your feeder: 5 ft off the bottom, 7 ft away from bushes or constructions, and 9 ft of clearance above it. Squirrels have not proven curiosity in chewing my Hen Buddy Professional, which is hanging from a shepherd’s hook close to a tree, however they are going to swing on it, spilling a lot of the seed.
One of many greatest downsides of each Hen Buddys is the infuriatingly small, hinged opening for filling the 4 cups’ value of seed. The feeder comes with its personal spouted cup, however I’ve but to fill the feeder with out making an infinite mess. I additionally examined the 3-in-1 Vitamin Set ($39), which features a screw-on tray that may variably grow to be a water fountain, jelly dish, or fruit stake for fruit-loving species like orioles. I’ve used it as a jelly dish and water fountain and located that it blocks sufficient of the perch space that birds are likely to shift out of digicam view to keep away from it. Total, this improve over the unique could also be value it in the event you plan to make the most of a few of the app’s sharing options, particularly Premium’s means to share your feeder livestream with others.
Greatest for DIY
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
If in case you have an current fowl feeder you want, or are inquisitive about constructing your individual and are simply searching for a digicam, you are able to do a lot worse than the Hibird DIY. It is appropriate with each 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz Wi-Fi bands—a rarity for fowl feeder cameras—and the lovable inexperienced owl face streams the identical 4K HD video and 1080p pics as the larger Hibird feeder, above. No subscription is required, although a Hibird rep says that will change sooner or later. There’s an auxiliary photo voltaic panel included for charging, and you’ll mount it by way of its ¼-inch nut on the included bendable arm and bracket, or jury-rig a customized answer. It pairs seamlessly with the Hibird app, with entry to AI (which is simply OK), livestreaming, and the Dr. Hen Chat GPT-like function, the place you may ask bird-related questions. (The solutions are corny and never as granular as they could possibly be, however it nonetheless could possibly be helpful for some.)
Examine Our High Feeder Picks
Honorable Mentions
Birdfy
Tub Professional
A decrease upkeep solution to take pleasure in birds in your yard, this recycled-plastic birdbath comes outfitted with a dual-lens digicam sending 1080p pictures and 2K video by way of the Birdfy app and using the app’s AI for fowl identification. With the IP66-rated birdbath’s sturdy metallic base (you should buy it for much less with out) and solar-powered battery and fountain pump, all I needed to do was be sure that the three.5-liter, 1.65-inch reservoir was topped off with water. Theoretically. In actuality, it solely took 24 hours for me to appreciate this new toy was not truly serving as a birdbath in my yard however as a heavy-traffic hand-washing station for raccoons. This nonetheless would have been an entertaining expertise had it not been for a similar downside that plagued Birdfy’s Professional Duo feede: a consistently dropping digicam connection. Even when the birdbath was stationed instantly exterior the wall the place my router was, the digicam would go offline at the very least as soon as a day—generally a number of instances a day. Rebooting remedied the difficulty for an additional 12 hours or so, however then it went proper again offline. Just like the Professional Duo, that is an in any other case quality-made and -engineered product, and I am hoping Birdfy can work out the digicam kinks.
Birdfy
Feeder 2 Duo
Birdfy’s flagship improve for 2025, winner of this yr’s CES Innovation Award and an American Good Design Gold Award, has one of the best picture and video high quality of any Birdfy sensible feeder. There’s one dual-lens front-facing digicam (2-MP/1080p huge angle and 3-MP/2K portrait) and one 2-MP/1080p facet digicam, and each seize sharp, extremely detailed video with high-quality sound. The front-facing digicam will even pan and crop to make sure it is targeted on a fowl. (Notice that there is additionally a less expensive, single-camera model of the Feeder 2 that we’ve not examined.) The feeder’s IP66-rated plastic physique, which has held up very properly to date in Pacific Northwest winter climate, is wall-, pole-, or tree-mountable. An auxiliary photo voltaic panel and lifelong AI fowl identification are each included. The reservoir holds barely much less seed than the unique plastic Birdfy, at 42 ounces vs. Birdfy 1’s 50 ounces, which is simply as properly, as this feeder appears to be a magnet for squirrels who wish to chew on it and steal the seed. I had fixed bother with the rodents chewing off the edges and compartment dividers throughout my two months of testing. Like the unique Birdfy, there have been some points with non-bird motion triggering the digicam, however total I used to be impressed with each the picture high quality and the Birdfy app’s up to date AI identification. That mentioned, there are some critical flaws that saved this digicam from incomes prime billing. Each cameras repeatedly dropped connections in the course of the two-month testing interval, despite the fact that I used to be utilizing the required 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi community (Birdfy cameras can’t run on 5 GHz). The photo voltaic panel, which should be mounted individually, additionally did not hold the cameras constantly charged in cloudy climate. I additionally didn’t love that the cameras didn’t work in tandem—they do not provide views in the identical app window as with the Birdfy Hum, under. Birdfy says this may quickly be rectified with an app replace, so potential consumers could need to wait till Birdfy works out some extra kinks.
Kiwibit
Beako 4K Sensible Hen Feeder
The Beako is among the extra thoughtfully designed fowl feeders I’ve examined. The plastic seed reservoir is detachable from the IP65 physique for refilling, so you do not have to take the entire thing down; the 3-watt photo voltaic panel can mount onto the again for pole set up; and the 8-MP pictures and 4K HD video are a lot better high quality than you may discover from rivals. The entire setup is absolutely useful with no subscription, although one is critical to entry all options. I additionally like that the movies report so long as a fowl is doing one thing attention-grabbing, even when it is a number of minutes lengthy. The one draw back is that the photo voltaic panel stopped working after about six weeks. I used to be nonetheless capable of cost the battery, however I might choose to not have this further activity.
Harymor
Hen Feeder With Digital camera
This Amazon feeder’s app leaves a lot to be desired, however it does get main factors for staying absolutely charged for 2 months with its 3-watt built-in roof photo voltaic panel, regardless of getting little or no solar in my Pacific Northwest winter yard. Like many cheap feeder cameras, many of the Harymor’s marketed options—comparable to AI identification and the flexibility to take 2K video—are hidden behind a subscription paywall ($4 a month, or $48 a yr), on this case within the VicoHome app. Nevertheless, even when the subscription is activated, the AI is mistaken extra usually than it is proper.
Sehmua
Hen Feeder With Digital camera
From the identical makers because the Harymor fowl feeder, above, the Sehmua is sort of equivalent to the Harymor, however with out the built-in photo voltaic roof. The panel it comes with must be mounted individually. I used to be particularly amused by the field it arrived in, which encompasses a hummingbird. (That is, in fact, a seed feeder.) Not like different feeders that additionally require an auxiliary photo voltaic panel, the Sehmua has a bizarre USB-C dongle that hangs off the again; it’s not detachable, and it’s used for charging the digicam as properly. What the Sehmua does have going for it over the Harymor, although, is far improved AI, which additionally hyperlinks to a fowl species’ Wikipedia web page and offers choices for corrections. It’s additionally absolutely usable out of the field with a yearlong free-trial subscription—a rarity amongst fowl feeders on this value vary—by way of the user-friendly Ubox app. Specs for the digicam weren’t supplied, however the picture and video high quality are fairly stable, although not as sharp as Hen Buddy’s or Birdfy’s. The sphere of view can be first rate, at 140 levels. There is a lifetime free subscription model for $10 extra, which Sehmua’s rep assures me is in any other case precisely the identical. I additionally like that this one’s app labels all captures with a fowl ID, so you may scroll down the day’s listing and instantly see what’s value clicking on.
FeatherSnap
Scout Sensible Hen Feeder
Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano examined the FeatherSnap Scout when it debuted in June 2024, and I retested it in early 2025. It is obtained a twin feed bay (4.2 cups both sides, for a complete of 8.4 cups capability), built-in photo voltaic panel, expandable perch, and fairly stable 4-MP picture decision, the readability and high quality of which have been on par with costlier cameras just like the Hen Buddy. There’s additionally an choice to view video in 0.5-speed slo-mo. As with many of the cheaper cameras, nonetheless, most of the options (like AI identification and video) are hidden behind a subscription. I didn’t discover the ornithologist-trained AI identification to be tremendous correct, and the app was total cumbersome to make use of, taking some time to load after which requiring a number of steps to interact the AI function. I additionally did not like that customers should make an account that requires an handle and telephone quantity simply to make use of the feeder, even when they’re not shopping for a premium plan. And if they’re shopping for a premium plan, they’ll’t do it via the app retailer. They need to undergo Feathersnap’s web site, which requires getting into uncooked bank card data—no different pay choices like PayPal or Apple Pay—and their handle as soon as once more. I additionally discovered it mechanically charged my bank card on the finish of the monthlong subscription function with out warning, and there was no choice to cease the recurring cost apart from deleting my account.
FeatherSnap
Sensible Hummingbird Feeder
FeatherSnap simply launched its new HD-camera hummingbird feeder in Could 2025, however just like the Scout, it solely helps nonetheless pictures and a stay feed with no subscription, which is a trouble to join and tough to cancel. It additionally holds as much as 4 cups of nectar, however there are not any directions on how lengthy one ought to go away liquid within the feeder (hummingbirds can grow to be in poor health and die rapidly from spoiled nectar), and that quantity appears extreme for a number of days’ value. That mentioned, that is in any other case a sturdy and well-made feeder with a number of mounting choices, an ant moat on prime, and a handy built-in photo voltaic panel that does a terrific job of holding a cost, even throughout prolonged cloudy durations. Regardless of the effort with FeatherSnap’s subscription state of affairs, described above, this feeder skilled no connectivity or different points throughout my testing interval.
PeckPerk
Sensible Hen Feeder With 2K Digital camera
Some of the unique-looking sensible feeders available on the market, the PeckPerk sports activities a teardrop form impressed by a weaver fowl nest, fronted by a 5-inch-long perch styled to appear to be twigs. Of explicit curiosity to me, a few of its early net copy promoted it as “squirrel proof.” I couldn’t work out why this may be till 7 am one Saturday morning, once I heard what appeared like a tinny burglar alarm ringing someplace past the bushes exterior my front room window. I went exterior, and lo and behold, a squirrel was sitting on the PeckPerk, munching away at a sunflower seed whereas a high-pitched alarm blared proper in its face. I may inform this was not the primary time this had occurred (sorry, neighbors!), because the squirrel was fully unfazed. PeckPerk does get factors for attempting, although. (And it must be famous this alarm is well disabled.) It additionally will get factors for being exceedingly simple to fill, being one of many few feeders that may mount properly on a tree or on a tripod, and having stable evening imaginative and prescient with its 2K digicam. Nevertheless, not solely does it require a subscription to report video and the mounting of an auxiliary photo voltaic panel, limiting the place it may be positioned, the app interface was extraordinarily rudimentary in contrast with different feeders’ and by no means intuitive.
Harymor
Hummingbird Feeder With Digital camera
I anticipated this hummingbird feeder to look considerably like its seed-feeder sibling, above, however apart from its additionally utilizing the VicoHome app, it bears completely zero resemblance. It’s obtained a humorous little crimson umbrella-shaped prime, and the field, which encompasses a vaguely Asian-themed font, has no model title listed. I do like that it comes with an enormous bottle brush and a smaller brush for the flowers, and that it has interchangeable lavender and bluish-purple flowers to go together with the usual yellow. I used one in all every to see if there was one our resident Anna’s hummingbirds most popular, however they appeared indiscriminately inquisitive about all of them. Just like the seed feeder, there are solely nonetheless pictures and stay feed with out a further subscription, and I didn’t love what number of false alarms appeared to be recorded. There’s an indentation on the lid that holds water for an ant moat, however for the reason that photo voltaic panel should be mounted individually, ants may simply use the wire to achieve the feeder.
Birdfy
Hum Feeder Duo
Birdfy’s Hum Feeder Duo is the hummingbird feeder model of the Duo seed feeder, above. Each variations of the Hum include a transparent, BPA-free, anti-mold bottle that screws right into a crimson base with a trio of plastic flowers. The duo has two 3-MP 2K cameras—one front-facing and one side-facing. The cameras cost collectively and work collectively to supply a side-by-side view within the app. I had zero issues with setup—after an in a single day cost, the feeder was up and working in about 10 minutes. One cost lasted just a little over every week in Pacific Northwest November temperatures, although for $20 extra you may spring for the photo voltaic panel add-on with a patented ant moat (I’ve not tried this but). I recognize that the app exhibits battery life alongside temperature and humidity, which is useful for gauging when to exchange the liquid, though a extra express notification like Hen Buddy’s could be useful. Just like the seed feeder above, nonetheless, my testing interval was not with out concern. In actual fact, I solely had the Hum up for a pair weeks earlier than the sensor appeared to have failed, often capturing wind-driven movement however failing to register any birds. It is also at present flagged on Amazon as a steadily returned merchandise as a result of charging points.
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
Courtesy of Limitless Improvements
Limitless Improvements
Hiya Birdie
It is a stable, well-constructed IP65 feeder that is usable with no subscription, and I appreciated the loop on the prime for simple hanging from a shepherd’s hook. It additionally has as squirrel sensor that makes comical hawk noises when it spots a rodent (it even works on rats, as I discovered one unlucky night). However the picture decision shouldn’t be good regardless of being marketed as 1080p, the AI is abysmal, and the photo voltaic panel did not cost and even complement the battery on two take a look at fashions I attempted. There are a lot better feeders on the market for half the worth.
FAQs
How Does WIRED Take a look at Hen Feeders?
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I take a look at all feeders in my rural-surburban yard within the Pacific Northwest. I mount seed feeders on a 1-inch pole with a baffle, utilizing the supplied mounting {hardware} and hose clamps. If pole mounting is not possible, I mount on a fence. I dangle hummingbird feeders from a shepherd’s hook mounted on the facet of my home. I fill the seed feeders with Audubon Wild Park fowl seed and the hummingbird feeders with a nectar combination of 4-to-1 granulated sugar and water. I hold every feeder up for at least 4 weeks, with all app notifications enabled.
I take a look at all app options accessible each with a subscription or with out, seeing how usually I get notifications and noting whether or not they’re precisely selecting up simply birds or any sort of out of doors motion, and the way properly the AI function is ready to distinguish fowl species. I additionally take a look at connectivity, seed capability, video high quality, and the way properly the feeder our bodies maintain as much as squirrels and inclement climate.
Feeder samples are both supplied by corporations or bought and expensed, and both donated afterward or saved in storage for comparability with newer or related fashions or manufacturers.
What Do I Must Know Earlier than Setting Up a Sensible Feeder?
AccordionItemContainerButtonKeep feeders tremendous clear. The very last thing you need to do to your feathered company is make them in poor health from consuming moldy seeds or unfold avian ailments. Each two weeks, scrub feeders with heat, soapy water after which both soak them in a single half bleach to 9 elements water or one half white vinegar to at least one half water—each strategies are beneficial by Audubon. Rinse and dry completely earlier than including extra seed (you do not need bleach residue both). Regulate fowl flu outbreaks and take note of what the birds appear to be at your individual feeders. In case you suspect one thing, you may need to take away the feeder till issues look higher.Solely get a hummingbird feeder in the event you’re devoted to preserving it spotless. It’s essential be much more diligent about cleanliness right here. It’s essential clear a hummingbird feeder each two to 3 days. Nectar sitting within the solar harbors micro organism development rapidly, which may trigger hummingbird tongues to swell and nearly all the time ends of their demise. Purple attracts these birds, however do not use crimson nectar. There are not any research conclusively proving that dye harms birds, however at finest it is pointless and at worst may make them sick. As a substitute, go for feeders with crimson items to get their consideration or follow planting hummingbird-friendly flowers and skip the feeder altogether.Add a water supply too. Birds want clear water for consuming and bathing, so you may make your yard extra of an oasis by offering it. Birdfy makes a sensible birdbath, reviewed above, or you can even make your individual fountain out of something—even a favourite pot, or a bucket—utilizing a photo voltaic pump package. I am at present testing this one and can report again. The identical cleansing method outlined above goes for baths. You may as well take into account including common fowl homes—analog or a sensible model, like Birdfy’s Polygon, above—for birds to nest.Give birds time. You probably will not see birds at your feeder day one. Give them time to search out it and belief it. If after a number of weeks you continue to haven’t got guests, it may be time to reevaluate what sort of fowl seeds you are utilizing or the place you have positioned it.AccordionItemContainerButton
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
As is the case with any fowl feeder, squirrels like to eat at sensible fowl feeders, which aren’t squirrel-proof, no matter advertising and marketing claims. Nevertheless, many of the sensible feeders we’ve examined are simply as sturdy, if not in some instances sturdier, than analog fowl feeders. If the feeder is hanging, the worst that can in all probability occur is that the squirrel’s weight will trigger it to swing wildly, spilling seed onto the bottom. If it’s mounted, the worst-case situation is probably going the squirrel consuming all of the seed, chewing the sides, and protecting up the digicam with its fuzzy butt.
The yard the place I take a look at sensible feeders year-round is awful with the big and protracted rodents, and the squirrel injury I’ve sustained on take a look at feeders has been minor. With the Birdfy Professional Duo, under, the animals chewed off the sides to raised get on the seed provide when it was low, and the FeatherSnap Scout had its mounting bent. High of thoughts is the 5-7-9 methodology of siting a fowl feeder—at the very least 5 ft off the bottom, at the very least 7 ft away from any constructions, and at the very least 9 ft away from something a squirrel may soar from (branches, fences, roofs).
An alternative choice is an aftermarket baffle added to feeders hanging on shepherd’s hooks, or a pole with a built-in baffle, like this one supplied by Birdfy. An alternative choice is utilizing seed handled with capsaicin, or scorching pepper. Birds don’t have capsaicin receptors like mammals do, in order that they’re not affected by the style. That mentioned, I’ve discovered capsaicin solely retains squirrels away for a few days, whether or not as a result of they’ve gotten used to it or the pepper loses its efficiency when uncovered to the weather. As a final resort, you may all the time simply study to stay with the squirrels and dedicate a feeder to them, though my neighbor does this and I am of the thoughts it brings much more squirrels to the realm.
What Are We Testing Subsequent?
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