Most iPhone-connected smart home products are more for convenience than fun, but Bird Buddy, a bird feeder that sends pictures to your iPhone, is definitely in the latter category. When I first came across the Bird Buddy, I thought it would be an interesting novelty product to give as a gift, but it turned out to be one of my all-time favorite smart devices.

Design and Components

Made from a sturdy plastic material, the Bird Buddy comes in either blue or yellow. The housing is designed around a camera, which is placed front and center to capture images of birds that come by to eat from the feeder. A tray holds the seed, and there's a small perch for birds to stand on to eat. There's a seed reservoir at the back to replenish what's in the tray as it's consumed, and a roof protects the seed from the elements.

There are two versions of the Bird Buddy, one with a solar roof for charging the camera and one with a standard plastic roof. If you have a semi-sunny spot for the Bird Buddy, I recommend the solar roof. I have my feeder in a spot that gets several hours of sun per day, and I've never had to take the camera out to charge it. A family member also has the solar model (that I gifted), and it is in a much shadier spot. With the shade cover, the Bird Buddy needs to be charged every month to every other month.

Both of these feeders see multiple visits per day, though the one located in the shade that needs charging more often has an almost constant stream of bird visitors. Without a solar roof, Bird Buddy says that the battery lasts for 5 to 15 days, so the solar roof does eliminate the hassle of frequent charging.

The Bird Buddy disassembles into its component pieces for charging and cleaning. You can remove the camera module and bring it into the house, but doing so requires taking the feeder down, opening up the back, and pulling the camera out. It charges with USB-C, and takes two to four hours to charge to full. With the solar roof, you connect the USB-C port on the Bird Buddy to the USB-C port on the solar charger, so you could do the same thing with a DIY setup, adding your own solar panel. Alternatively, you could use an extension cord and keep it plugged in all the time, though Bird Buddy only recommends this for protected areas like a balcony.

Setup wasn't difficult, but the lights on the Bird Buddy are super hard to see, so when you need a blinking red light to pair, it's hard to tell that it's blinking. I didn't have issues other than that, and with the solar version, it's a little tricky getting the camera plugged in. You need to connect the USB-C cable from the solar panel to the Bird Buddy camera, routing the cable through a small spot a the top of the feed bin. I was worried about this set up, but it's held up to heavy rain and the cabling has not gotten wet.

Along with the solar roof, camera module, and feeder housing, the Bird Buddy comes with a seed scoop for adding bird seed, a hanger, and a pole mount, so there are multiple options for mounting. I bought a pole from Wild Birds Unlimited that I read on the internet was compatible with the mount, but it was not, so I hung it up. If you want to mount the Bird Buddy on a pole, you will need a pole with a 0.97-inch inner diameter (a common size).

Size wise, the Bird Buddy is comparable to smaller bird feeders on the market, and it holds about four cups of seed in the reservoir and tray. In my experience, that's about a pound of bird seed. Adding and refilling seed can be done by opening up the back hatch and using the seed scoop to pour it in. I only need to refill around once every two weeks or so because I have other bird feeders, but that will vary based on how many visitors you're getting.

You need to make sure the Bird Buddy is in range of your Wi-Fi router because it does need a constant Wi-Fi connection and a 2.4GHz band.

Add-Ons

The size of the seed tray and the small size of the included perch will likely limit most visits to smaller birds like finches and sparrows, but Bird Buddy sells a perch extender for $24. I did go ahead and pick this up, and I like it because it gives the birds more space to perch.

There's also a 3-in-1 nutrition set for $29, but I wasn't a fan of it. It includes an add-on seed/water dish that you can use for seeds or jelly, or attach to an included water bottle. There's also a set of prongs where you can add an orange or another fruit if you want to attract orioles. You can only use one of these at a time, and while the tray itself was fine, the water bottle took up too much perch space and blocked the camera.

For $14, you can get a suet ball holder too, which can attract more types of birds. The suet ball also blocks the camera somewhat, so it's a bit of a tradeoff. If you want to mount the Bird Buddy to the wall, you'll need the $24 Wall Mount, which is not included with the base purchase.

If you have access to a 3D printer, I have seen several Bird Buddy STLs for add-on perches and seed holders, plus neat options like a fence to keep birds from perching and eating out of view.

There is no built-in protection from squirrels, raccoons, and other critters on the Bird Buddy, which is a downside. You either need to have a setup that puts the feeder out of range of these creatures or you need to accept them as visitors. The pole that I use has a baffle that blocks squirrels from climbing it, and it seems to be far enough away from nearby surfaces so the squirrels can't leap to the feeder. Bird Buddy does not sell poles or baffles at this time, though it looks like there's going to be a pole setup released later this year.

While Bird Buddy sells birdseed, any kind of bird food can go in the device. There are some limitations, like full-sized in-shell peanuts likely wouldn't fit because of the opening size, but any kind of bird seed or meal worm mix should work. I have not tried the Bird Buddy bird seed, as I've just bought seed locally from a nearby bird store.

Bird Visits

It took a good two weeks for birds to start visiting my Bird Buddy after I set it up, and there are placement considerations to take into account. Bird Buddy's website has instructions and tips on attracting birds. In addition to being positioned to keep squirrels and similar critters away, the Bird Buddy will be more successful near a water source like a bird bath and with trees and bushes that birds can hide in to escape predators.

or from Amazon. It is priced at $239 for the standard model and $299 for the model with a solar roof, though there are often sales.

Note: Bird Buddy provided MacRumors with a Smart Bird Feeder with Solar Roof for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.