One of the greatest joys in my garden this year has been watching the birds. And something that has made doing this even easier is my bird feeder camera: the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder. I wasn't wholly convinced about this piece of garden tech before I tried it, but now I am obsessed.
A bird feeder camera has proven to be such an enjoyable addition to my yard. Not only does the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder (currently $40 off in Amazon's Black Friday sale) allow me to watch birds up close through an app on my phone, it also identifies the types of birds visiting my yard. Thanks to this technology, I've discovered there are types of birds coming to my yard I had no idea about, including some beautiful songbirds.
This smart bird feeder uses solar power to keep the camera charged. It can be mounted to a wall, tree, or fence post and has an extendable ledge to support birds big and small. It features two large feeding chambers, so you can put two different kinds of bird food in it. Use the FeatherSnap app to watch birds in HD and identify which species have visited your yard. Automatically turning on with a motion sensor, this smart feeder also captures video footage for you to download and view at any point.
What I love about the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder
The first thing to praise the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder for is its quality.
It comes with a mounting bracket, making it easy to attach to walls, fence posts, trees, and more. It's sturdy, robust, and has proven itself to support the weight of larger garden birds in my UK countryside garden – even big pigeons have had no trouble perching on the extendable ledge.
The dual chamber is a big perk, offering twice as much capacity for bird food. This means you can use two different types of bird food at once to attract a wider range of garden birds. For example, you can put out wild bird seed mix from Amazon and mealworms for birds from Amazon at the same time.
Now to talk about the main function of the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder as a piece of garden tech.
It was easy enough to download the app and connect it to my feeder by scanning an attached barcode.
The fact this is a solar garden feature is also something I particularly appreciate, as I don't have to regularly bring the camera indoors to charge at an outlet.
As for the camera function itself, I have no complaints. It automatically turns on with a motion sensor to snap photos of any birds that feed at it.
In fact, the motion sensor is actually so effective, it has even caught some snaps of me working in the back corner of the garden thanks to the 120° wide-angle lens. This makes me confident it will never fail to capture any birds coming to the yard.
The quality of the images is pretty good, too. With 1080p resolution, it captures detail like feather patterns and eyes. It's always an adorable surprise to check in on the app and find images like this one below of a robin in my garden:
All of the images are conveniently housed on the FeatherSnap app. Here, you can view and download them, as well as request video footage of the bird's visit.
The videos also include audio, so you can listen to any beautiful birdsong that has been captured.
You can even use the live feed to check in on your feeder at any one point, with the app having a notification function to alert you of real-time activity.
Once you have some snaps of birds, you can also add them to the bird book on the app. There are plenty of tools to help you identify the bird species when doing this, including a fast AI recognition feature.
For those wanting to engage children with gardening, I would also say this is a pretty good investment. The app has additional game features, from collecting badges for achievements such as capturing your first snap, to looking after virtual birds. All together, it's a family-friendly app that offers more than just a photo and video footage of the birds visiting your yard.
Downsides of the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder
While I thoroughly enjoy using the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder, there are some slight drawbacks to mention.
The size is something to take into consideration. Measuring 13"Lx12"Wx14.5"H, it's certainly not a small, unobtrusive bird feeder to incorporate in the yard. This means it may stand out among those who prefer a minimalist garden.
Having said that, it's design is simple yet stylish, with timeless dark green accents and a charming decorative roof.
Plus, the size allows for a larger capacity of bird food, reducing the need to refill it as often and maximizing the number of birds that can visit at one time.
Something else to note is the usability of the app. At times, I've found it a little clumsy, not always reliably alerting me of activity to check on the live feed.
Nevertheless, it does always reliably capture snaps to check back on and review, including information like the time in which they were taken and offering video footage to download with ease.
My final point is about the price of the FeatherSnap smart bird feeder. It retails at $179.99 and even with the current deal of $139.99, it is not cheap.
On top of this, you pay a subscription to use the camera function, costing $6.99 monthly. There's no doubt it is an investment for the yard.
However, I can honestly say it is one of the most enjoyable wildlife garden features I have ever added to my garden.
Seeing birds in detailed HD shots is simply charming and doesn't get old. It's apparent how much the birds enjoy feeding from it too, with regular visitors daily.
Plus, the additional game features of the app do contribute to the higher price, though it remains one of the more expensive bird feeder cameras on the market.
Best bird feeder camera deals
There are plenty of bird feeder camera deals to shop this sales period, many of which are discounted to unbelievably affordable prices. Here, are some of the best offers I've spotted:
This bird feeder camera is solar powered, provides real-time alerts of bird activity, and has a 2.5K HD 130° wide angle camera. It also has capacity to provide bird seed and nectar for hummingbirds, increasing the number of birds it attracts. No subscription needed.
With real-time notifications alerting you of bird activity, this bird feeder with camera captures and recognizes over 100,000 bird species. It also provides information on the birds it has captured photos of and has audio to capture birdsong. It has capacity for bird seed, hummingbird nectar, and suet balls.
This smart bird feeder captures 2K HD videos with a 160° wide-angle lens. It provides instant alerts to your phone of any bird activity and uses AI to recognize over 11,000 bird species. You can try a 30-day trial for the app subscription and then pay $5 a month.
There are plenty of other ways to also support birds this winter. Bird feeder alternatives, like native shrubs with berries, are also valuable to incorporate in the yard. Check out our guide to charming bird feeders for fall and winter, too.
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