I’ve been trying out a new bird feeder with a built in camera and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. The concept is simple: Stick a motion-activated camera on the front and capture videos anytime a bird visits. Think of it as a doorbell camera for birds. What makes it fun is you can observe a variety of birds up close and learn about all of the varieties in your area.
If you check out the category on Amazon, the choices are overwhelming. There are hundreds of products that look and work much the same, ranging in price from about $60 to over $200. Many even use the same camera and software. So how do you pick?
I read the Amazon reviews, watched YouTube video reviews, and compared the specs. I looked for one with the highest resolution camera with a large battery and wide field of view. I wanted a bird feeder that held a lot of birdseed that was easy to fill. I also You wanted one with a solar panel that can be placed nearby in the sun to keep the battery charged. The feeders come in many shapes and sizes, but I wanted one that looked like a birdhouse and that blended in with nature.
After a ton of research, I selected this one from the hundreds- all from anonymous Chinese-named companies. It costed about $120. (I noticed that its price varied from $90 to $130 over a week). It had all of the features I wanted – similar to models costing $150 or more. Frankly, it’s hard to go wrong, as many use the same components and software.
Assembly, setup, and installation were easier than I expected. It came with a clearly written colored instruction book, unusual for most Chinese-made products. I charged the camera battery, paired it to my phone over WiFi, and mounted it atop a one-inch diameter metal pole about forty feet behind my home. The product comes with a variety of mounting options for a fence post, tree, and the side of a house or a vertical surface. It also includes a strap to wrap it around a tree or post if you prefer not using the screw-in brackets.
The key to the product’s capabilities is the free app, VicoHome. It’s a general purpose home security camera app adapted for use for bird feeders.(It’s highly rated at 4.9 stars and #148 on the Apple app store and is the #3 top grossing video app on the Google Play Store.) The app is free for capturing photos; if you want to capture videos, there’s a yearly charge of $48. It comes with a free one month trial.
Every time there’s a visiting bird, the camera starts rolling and saves a 10-second video with sound to the supplied memory card. The software also identifies the type of bird and labels each image. I thought I only had a couple of varieties, but I discovered about a dozen. You can set your phone to alert you whenever there’s a visitor or just check to see what’s been recorded.
The videos are actually quite entertaining. Here’s a screenshot from my phone:
Other things to consider: Be sure your WiFi is strong enough to reach the location where you want to place the birdhouse. You’ll need some sun to keep the battery charged. And don’t forget that you’ll need to be in a location where there are birds! This is one of those products that really exceeds expectations.
