I’ve been using this Birdfy smart bird feeder for four months: here’s what I’ve learned
I love birds. I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I was little and any time someone asked me what I wish my superpower was, I always said, “I wish I could fly like a bird.” There are many different species of birds, each as fascinating as the next. Now, as an adult, when I test the best cameras, I always photograph birds — in flight, while feeding, mingling with one another, and everything in between.
I’ve always wanted a smart bird feeder for that reason, so that I could watch them regardless of where I am in the world, and provide them nourishment — especially in the winter when food is scarce. I finally got the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI about four months ago, and honestly? I’m obsessed with it.
As a first-time smart bird feeder owner, there are a few things I’ve learned in my time with the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI. The feeder is extremely easy to set up and comes with a few different attachments, so you can choose either to screw it into your wall or mount it on a pole. If, like me, you’re a birding enthusiast, you’ll love the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI as much as I do.
Oh-so-easy to get started
As soon as I unboxed the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI, I was struck by just how easy it was to get started. In the box, you get all the feeder’s parts which are easy to assemble thanks to the easy-to-read manual. There are also three mounting options: there’s a pole that you can insert into the ground if you have a garden, a strap to wrap it around a tree, and a wall mount to screw it into, well, a wall.
I don’t have a garden but I do have a balcony, but the wooden fence is very stiff and difficult to drill into. I settled with placing the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI on our outdoor table (which we don’t use in the winter months). Once you’ve assembled the feeder and before you put it up in your garden or balcony, you need to charge it via the USB-C port located under the protective rubber flap on the top of the camera module, or around the back of the feeder.
Once I’d done that, I placed the feeder in my balcony and filled it up with bird feed I bought from my local grocery store. I also paired the feeder with the Birdfy app, which took just a few seconds, and I was good to go.
The setup must have taken me under 10 minutes, and I charged the feeder for a few hours to ensure it had enough power to keep going for weeks.
A feast for local birds
The Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI is an excellent smart bird feeder. Equipped with a 1080p camera, it captures birds with plenty of detail. It also features Night Vision, which means it can detect movement and record videos even in low-light conditions or in pitch black darkness. You get 30-day free cloud storage for 20-second videos, and you can insert a microSD card (up to 128GB) for longer videos.
I love that I don’t have to worry about the bird feeder just sitting in my balcony when it’s pouring down. I live in the U.K. where it rains a lot, and many times, it’s torrential. The Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI is IP65-rated which means it’s protected in heavy rain, snow and wind. One of my favorite things about it is its long 5000mAh battery. It has been four months since I first charged the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI and I’m yet to do so!
The Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI’s container can hold up to 1.5L or 52oz of bird seed and food. If you think that’s a lot, think again. Once birds start visiting you regularly, you’d be surprised at how quickly that food disappears. Because of the number of visits and birds I get, I refill the bird feeder once a week. Thankfully, there are plenty of different bird feeds available, so you can choose the one you think is best for your birds and that fits your budget.
Although I’m against AI being part of our everyday life, I like that the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI comes with a lifetime AI subscription. It’s capable of identifying over 6,000 bird species worldwide. Once the feeder has identified the bird, it will send you a push notification via the Birdfy app — it’s quick and hassle-free.
But as with most things in life, it isn’t perfect. At one point, I got a notification that a European robin was visiting. I love robins — they’re some of my favorite birds, and ones we don’t see a lot of as we’re based in a busy city.
When I clicked on the notification, it was a common wood pigeon. Which I don’t mind as I love them too (highly underrated and unnecessarily over-hated birds, in my opinion), but it was a little disappointing still.
As I noted above that we live in a busy city, we don’t get many rare British birds. The most visits I get are from European magpies and common wood pigeons. Do I mind that? Not at all! I love them all, and I want to be able to provide for all kinds of birds and animals. My partner and I have nicknamed the common wood pigeon that visits us every day — we call him Maurice. The two magpies are yet to be named, so I’m open to suggestions.
The biggest lesson: patience is a virtue
Perhaps the biggest lesson I’ve learned while using the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI is that patience is a virtue, and it’s a key to using a smart bird feeder. For a couple of weeks after setting up my Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI, I noticed that birds hadn’t visited even once, which had me worried. It was also surprising because I was well-aware that a wood pigeon couple lived in the giant tree opposite my apartment — and I’d had visits from magpies in the past too.
So, as anyone does, I Googled it to try to get to the bottom of it. As it turns out, birds take time to identify a potential feeding source. They have to figure out any potential dangers before they come to feast. This makes sense because birds don’t want to risk getting nabbed by a predator while they’re feeding and have their guard down. I even had magpies investigating the bird feeder and then choosing to fly away, as you can see below.
At around the three-week mark of using the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI, I started getting daily visits from birds — mostly pigeons and magpies, as I mentioned earlier. This filled me with so much joy, and every time I got a notification that a bird was visiting, I’d immediately tap on it. It’s something I still look forward to every day. These days, I get at least 15 notifications saying a magpie or pigeon has dropped by for a little snack.
Patience is key with anything related to wildlife, as I’ve found while photographing them since I was a child too. Animals and birds are unpredictable and they will never just do something because you want them to. That’s the beauty of wildlife, after all. We need to respect all wild animals and birds, give them their space, and observe them from a respectable distance — and the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI allows me to do just that.
Looking ahead…
The Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI is an absolute delight. If you get it without a solar panel, it costs $139 / £129 at Amazon. The solar panel pack costs $249 / £209 at Amazon, and it’s worth the extra spend if you like using renewable energy and don’t want your feeder to run out of charge unexpectedly.
I believe anyone who owns a garden or balcony should have one. It isn’t about whether you like birds or not (which, to me, sounds preposterous, by the way). It’s about providing birds with a safe space to feed and nourish themselves.
In winter, food is scarce, especially if you live in a snowy area. As trees become barren and there are no fruits growing on them, birds can’t always get their proper nourishment from natural feeding grounds. This is why it’s essential to have a food source they can trust, and one you can replenish regularly.
Birds can be your friends too. I’ve always wanted them to sit on my hand and eat directly from my palm. My goal, going forward, is to gain the trust of the birds that visit me and be able to feed them up close — as long as they want it and are comfortable with it, of course. For now, the Netvue Birdfy Feeder AI will suffice. And as a thank you for making it this far into my article, here’s a photo of two wood pigeons feeding and hanging out, as seen through my home office window.
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