Smart bird feeders gain popularity, spark interest in bird-watching

Marin Plank truly had no interest in birds when she gave her husband a camera-equipped bird feeder for his birthday. But by Christmas, she had become so obsessed with it that most of the gifts she received this year — books, stickers, notecards — were bird-related.

"This is who I am now," she said.

Acquaintances have stopped Plank on the street to discuss the bird photos she shares on Facebook. From copious amounts of research, she now knows the best birdseed blend and has a premium membership to a store that delivers giant bags of it to her Delaware home.

It all started when she got her first postcard from the Bird Buddy app, which provides photos and video clips that can be downloaded or shared.

"You've just got to click, and then the bird is in your face looking at you and mugging for you, and it's like your own little private show," she said. "Something about their little eyes and their goofy little faces just drew me in, and now I'm a bird enthusiast."

While North American bird populations decline dramatically, paradoxically, the number of people watching them has increased. While the coronavirus pandemic spurred many people to head outside in search of birds, for others, smart feeders that snap photos and videos of backyard visitors have brought the hobby inside.

"It really delivers value with very little input," said Franci Zidar, founder and CEO of Bird Buddy, which has sold 350,000 smart bird feeders since 2022.

"If you're actually kind of a hardcore bird watcher, that can be a very demanding hobby. There are, however, 20 to 30 species of birds in most US backyards that people either don't really know or appreciate."

Several other companies, including Birdfy, make similar bird feeders that are mounted with cameras. And while standard bird feeders tap into people's altruistic sides by allowing users to take care of animals, smart feeders take it a step further, Zidar said.

"Ultimately, I think it marries two really beautiful things. One is your need to nurture and to give back and to connect with nature, and the other one is to kind of see it and appreciate it," he said.

Bird Buddy has proven so successful that the company is expanding its portfolio to include a tiny flower-shaped camera called Petal, and Wonder Blocks, which can be assembled to provide habitats for butterflies and other insects. Details were announced Monday at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics show, in Las Vegas, with a Kickstarter campaign this spring.

"Let's not ask people to do crazy things, because they won't. Let's just give them value by just pointing a camera into this beautiful natural space," Zidar said. 

"We'll give you the drama, the happenings, the life that's happening in that corner of your home."

In Ipswich, Massachusetts, Judy Ashley already had 11 bird feeders in her yard when she got a Bird Buddy last year. She has taken down some of the older feeders in hopes of attracting more birds to the camera to capture photos of those hanging out lately in her yard, especially a yellow-throated warbler, which is rarely seen in New England. She finally succeeded on Monday.

"What's amazing is how close you can see the details of backyard birds that you just wouldn't see if you just stood there for hours with binoculars," she said. 

"You just realize how amazing nature is."

Rachel Matthews in Austin, Texas, has three camera-equipped feeders, including one specifically for hummingbirds. While she grew up with bird feeders, the smart feeders have increased her interest, she said.

"I love having the camera, and I see detail that even with my binoculars I'd never seen," she said. 

"The female cardinals with their red eyebrows and little feathers — it's just phenomenal."

In November, the National Audubon Society announced a partnership with Bird Buddy to increase awareness about bird conservation. The arrangement could provide a pathway to get data from the company's community science platform to scientists, said Nicolas Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the Audubon Society.

"We're eager to see how smart feeders and kind of just the whole bird-feeding industry can continue fostering this appreciation for birds and nature," he said.

In Delaware, Plank has grown attached to specific visitors to her feeder — a "badass" female Red-winged blackbird, a tufted titmouse who she said seems to know he's handsome and blue jays who act like "drunk uncles."

"I give them these personalities in my mind, and it's about having them right in front of my face, doing their little silly things," she said. 

"That really has drawn me in."

So, too, have the frequent alerts and notifications she gets on her phone.

"It's just like a little spark of joy," she said. "There's something about being interrupted to remind you about this little part of the world that is just really lovely."