Odds are, at this level you’ve most likely seen or know somebody who has a sensible fowl feeder. They’re pretty recognizable from a distance with their clear housing, cameras, and photo voltaic panels, and maybe a good friend or member of the family has despatched you a photograph or video of a vibrant goldfinch or good-looking woodpecker (responsible). The query at this level, then, is whether or not this stuff are actually definitely worth the $100-plus price ticket. Are they really sturdy? And what in regards to the squirrel downside?
Fortunate for you we’ve been testing the most well-liked sensible fowl feeder fashions, together with Netvue’s unique Birdfy feeder ($135) and Chicken Buddy’s new Professional mannequin ($219), for months on finish—in rain, snow, and warmth, and in a yard with persistent squirrels. We’ve explored the apps and notification settings, put in any non-compulsory photo voltaic panels, and used Cornell Lab’s All About Birds—in addition to Google Lens and our personal native experience—to confirm the accuracy of AI identifications.
Up to date Might 2025 : We added Birdfy’s Polygon sensible birdhouse and Chicken Buddy’s Professional hummingbird feeder as picks; a hummingbird feeder from Harymor, seed feeders from Sehmua, IsYoung, and PeckPerk; and a brand new assessment of the FeatherSnap Scout. We additionally added data on coping with squirrels.
Desk of Contents
Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano examined some feeders on a balcony in Texas and one in a yard in Pennsylvania. In Texas, she set them up each on a desk in addition to secured to the railing with the included mounting straps. In Pennsylvania, she used the bracket mounts to connect to a pole. WIRED reviewer Kat Merck examined feeders in a rural-surburban neighborhood in southwest Washington. The feeders had been mounted immediately on the home or on a fence with the included bracket mounts, or hung from a shepherd’s hook.
After setup, we crammed them with fowl seed (or, within the case of the hummingbird feeders, a nectar combination of 4-to-1 granulated sugar and water) and patiently waited for the native birds to search out them. We checked out all of the included app options, seeing how typically we obtained notifications and noting whether or not they’re precisely choosing up simply birds or any kind of outside motion, and the way effectively they’re capable of distinguish fowl species. We disassembled and cleaned them, returning them to their mounts after. We take a look at each for 2 weeks at minimal, however often for over a month.
Ideas for a Higher Chicken Feeder Expertise
{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. Nonetheless, many of the sensible feeders we’ve examined are simply as sturdy, if not in some circumstances sturdier, than analog fowl feeders. If the feeder is hanging, the worst that can most likely 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 state of affairs is probably going the squirrel consuming all of the seed, chewing the perimeters, and protecting up the digital camera with its fuzzy butt.
The yard the place I take a look at sensible feeders year-round is awful with the massive and protracted rodents, and the squirrel harm I’ve sustained on take a look at feeders has been minor. With the Birdfy Professional Duo, beneath, the animals chewed off the perimeters 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—not less than 5 ft off the bottom, not less than 7 ft away from any constructions, and not less than 9 ft away from something a squirrel might 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 provided by Birdfy. An alternative choice is utilizing seed handled with capsaicin, or scorching pepper. Birds don’t have capsaicin receptors like mammals do, so that they’re not affected by the style. That stated, 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 would at all times simply be taught to dwell 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?
Greatest Total
This cheery blue and white feeder, from safety firm Netvue, is the primary sensible feeder former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano examined, again in 2022. At the moment she gave it a 6/10 ranking for its value and wonky AI. Each metrics have improved since then—I used to be impressed with the Birdfy app’s AI after I examined the upgraded 2 Duo (see beneath), and this feeder may be very typically on sale for $200 or much less. In case you pay $20 extra, you get a lifetime subscription of AI identification, which is a strong deal. With out it, it’s going to value you $5 a month. Medea examined each this and the Birdfy bamboo feeder (beneath) and located the AI recognition did not at all times establish birds accurately. That is the feeder I purchased my mother and father for Christmas throughout an Amazon Prime Day sale, they usually’ve had the same expertise. That stated, I’ve examined feeders from a number of manufacturers and, given the large variability in lighting, shadows, and digital camera cleanliness, no AI goes to carry out flawlessly. Not like some manufacturers’, Birdfy’s AI nonetheless works extra typically than it does not.
Medea discovered that the 1080P wide-angle digital camera picks up much more motion from non-birds, so you could find yourself with a ton of notifications relying on the place that is positioned. In case you’re hoping for a bird-feeder/security-camera hybrid, although, this might be precisely what you need—particularly because it provides colour evening imaginative and prescient. The IP65 plastic development additionally makes this feeder sturdy and simpler to wash, and the 50-ounce seed reservoir is much simpler to fill than the Chicken Buddy with its handy flip-up prime. Not all bundles include a photo voltaic panel, however you should purchase it individually. Not like different feeders, the photo voltaic panel just isn’t inbuilt and should be mounted and linked individually with the included 9.8-foot charging cable. (The Birdfy comes with a pole mount, wall mount, and tree strap.)
Greatest-Wanting
Birdfy has a number of feeders we advocate. This bamboo one is the most effective wanting, but it surely comes with a little bit of maintenance. It does not have plastic elements like the remainder of the feeders on this checklist, and with its black and pure wooden hues, it appears to be like prefer it belongs in nature. An extendable perch lets a number of birds collect and examine, and it has two massive bins for both several types of seeds or the identical. The bins mingle within the tray on the backside, nonetheless. The FeatherSnap feeder beneath makes use of separate bins and trays when you choose that.
Like many of the different feeders on this checklist, it may be mounted on a pole or tree or hung from a hook. It additionally comes with a photo voltaic panel that you may mount as effectively, so that you by no means have to consider charging the digital camera battery.
As stunning because the bamboo feeder is, it does require upkeep. Birdfy notes that the feeder has a water-resistant ranking of IP65 and that it is mold- and rot-resistant. Nonetheless, the consumer handbook states that it must be sealed. By way of Reddit, Birdfy recommends sealing utilizing a bird-safe wooden sealer. I am unable to remark immediately on its sturdiness, since after I examined this feeder I used it on a desk on my coated balcony. —Medea Giordano
Greatest Sensible Hummingbird Feeder
Chicken Buddy is understood for its user-friendliness and considerate app, and its new Professional Sensible Hummingbird Feeder isn’t any exception. Every thing about its use is intuitive and straightforward. AI identification, 5-MP images, HD 2K video with slo-mo, every thing you want is included out of the field—no subscription wanted. There’s no auxiliary photo voltaic panel to fret about, because it’s constructed into the roof. Pairing together with your telephone is a cinch, integrating it into the Chicken Buddy app with different feeders is a snap, and even filling it’s no downside—not like different feeders which have weirdly cavernous capacities and/or must be crammed the wrong way up, the Chicken Buddy’s backside screws off and holds an affordable 1.75 cups of liquid. That is extra essential than you’d suppose, as Cornell Lab of Ornithology factors out that the better it’s to wash a hummingbird feeder, the extra doubtless you might be to do it typically and effectively.
{Photograph}: Kat Merck
It additionally comes with further plastic flowers and a brush, and the app sends reminders as to when it is time to clear. As with the Chicken Buddy Professional seed feeder (7/10, WIRED Recommends), the sensor doesn’t at all times choose up each fowl that visits, which may positively be a bummer if you see one thing fascinating out the window but it surely doesn’t present up within the app. Hopefully that is one thing that may be remedied on subsequent app updates.
Greatest-Wanting Sensible Birdhouse
Birdfy’s new Polygon Sensible Birdhouse (7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t the primary sensible birdhouse in the marketplace, however it’s the most interesting-looking. The parallelogram-esque, turquoise-paneled form received 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 digital camera gear is situated 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 doubtless received’t must) or reset the 1080p digital camera.
{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 top,” when the nest is deserted for the season. Be aware that the digital camera does emit an audible click on at any time when it is triggered by motion or the app, and the within is a little bit bigger than most birds would naturally gravitate to. Our take a look at home hasn’t had any fowl guests but this yr, however a challenge director for Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch stated it ought to solely be a matter of time.
Greatest App
Chicken Buddy’s latest improve (7/10, WIRED Recommends) appears to be like a lot the identical as its soon-to-be-phased-out unique feeder, save for a snazzy new HDR digital camera that may additionally shoot 2K HD video with slow-motion functionality. It has been going sturdy in my yard for over 4 months now. Along with having a visibly bigger, extra superior lens, the digital camera’s now obtained a bigger focus vary, wider area 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 pictures, and fewer background noise, but it surely’s completely usable with out this. )
The images aren’t almost as spectacular because the Birdfy Duo’s, and the digital camera, frustratingly, solely captures a handful of the birds that go to. (The non-solar model is at the moment flagged as a regularly 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 daily at 10 am). The Chicken Buddy additionally “sleeps” at evening and doesn’t appear to emphasise capturing images of individuals, so it would not make a sensible choice to double as a safety digital camera. Each Chicken 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 dwell in an space frequented by squirrels, I extremely advocate abiding by Chicken 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 Chicken Buddy Professional, which is hanging from a shepherd’s hook close to a tree, however they may swing on it, spilling a lot of the seed.
One of many greatest downsides of each Chicken Buddys is the infuriatingly small, hinged opening for filling the 4 cups’ price 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 even have the 3-in-1 Diet Set ($40), which features a screw-on tray that may variably change into 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 digital camera view to keep away from it. Total, this improve over the unique could also be price it when you plan to reap the benefits of among the app’s sharing options, particularly Premium’s skill to share your feeder livestream with others.
Advisable With Reservations
Birdfy’s flagship improve for 2025, winner of this yr’s CES Innovation Award and an American Good Design Gold Award, has the most effective photograph and video high quality of any fowl feeder I’ve examined, bar none. There’s one dual-lens front-facing digital camera (2-MP/1080p large angle and 3-MP/2K portrait) and one 2-MP/1080p facet digital camera, and each seize sharp, extremely detailed video with high-quality sound. The front-facing digital camera will even pan and crop to make sure it is targeted on a fowl. (Be aware that there is additionally a less expensive, single-camera model of the Feeder 2 that we have not examined.) The feeder’s IP66-rated plastic physique, which has held up very effectively to this point 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 effectively, as this feeder appears to be a magnet for squirrels who prefer to chew on it and steal the seed. I had fixed hassle with the rodents chewing off the edges and compartment dividers throughout my two months of testing. (I had marginal success mixing Audubon Wild Chicken Meals with habanero-based Cole’s Flaming Squirrel Sauce, $16, however the squirrels did come again ultimately.)
