I’m seeing a ton of smart bird feeders again this year at CES — and I’m inexplicably drawn to them. Perhaps because the idea of birds nibbling on seeds and flying away represents a natural purity and freedom that doesn’t exist within the halls of CES. Birdbuddy was one of the first smart bird feeder brands, with a wildly successful Kickstarter back in 2020. And this year, they’ve added birdsong to their species identification capabilities.
Two new feeders, the Birdbuddy 2 and the Birdbuddy 2 Mini both have the new feature, but the latter is a more affordable, starter version. The Bird Buddy 2 is solar-powered with built-in panels. It’s slightly larger and has a bigger seed capacity, too. Both have HD cameras you can manually position either vertically or horizontally and both have a mic to help with birdsong IDs.
Upgrades to the cameras include a faster wake-up time when a bird lands and the housing for the seed and camera has a more modular design that makes the feeder easier to clean. The lens is now protected by Gorilla Glass, which may seem excessive, but Rhian Humphries, Birdbuddy’s senior PR manager, said curious birds often peck at the camera looking for more food.
The AI Birdbuddy uses was trained on real bird visits and at the end of each day, you’ll get a “postcard,” a curated look at the birds that visited your feeder that day. Of course, the app can also alert you each time you have a feathered customer in your yard so you can tune into nature’s live feed and soothe your soul for a few.
The Birdbuddy 2 goes for $199. It sold out during the pre-order phase, and those units will ship in February, but more will be available in mid 2026. The Birdbuddy 2 Mini costs $129 with pre-orders opening in summer.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/birdbuddys-new-smart-bird-feeder-can-id-birds-by-their-songs-122000692.html?src=rss
