Bird Buddy review: great idea, poor execution

[@71igaddy]

When refilling, use the flap to guide the seed into the seed housing. You have to tilt the flap up slightly. This will prevent spillage.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Good tip. Thanks

[@AliceMadsen-t9q]

Had a day off and watched my birds feed on my other bird feeder and the Bird Buddy; not one bird during that hour was captured on the Bird Buddy despite them hanging around a significant time. This was a gift; the few photos and videos captured are nice - but I would not spend the money on it having experienced it for past 5weeks.

[@SirCrashaLot]

Whats the other better alternative? I am gift shopping btw :)

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

I appreciate you sharing your experience with it too!

[@bmorris82]

Sample bird seed is kind of sketchy because what kind of feed you use depends on where you live and what kind of birds you are looking for. The fill flap could have a catch that keeps it half open, but if you tilt it as commented before it works fine. I don't think the app is as cluttered as posted, but that's personal I guess, both my elderly mother and mother in law were able to navigate easily though, so take that for what it's worth. It's not cheap, but honestly I think the AI and simplicity is actually good for beginners or casual users. Most services like this charge for their extended features so. The 7 day limit is way beyond what you actually need. Any more than that and you'd be lost trying to go through it all. And you download the ones you want before it expires. The solar panel is a great addition, and ten days is not a bad battery life for an AI driven camera. There are other products of course but I really think this review is skewed beyond pros and cons. We all like what we like, but we're gonna have to disagree on this one.

[@mohitj452]

do you work for this company ? lol

[@84westy55]

@@mohitj452 Including sample bird seed is a GIGANTIC red flag that a bird feeder company is completely clueless. It's like thinking you have to buy red nectar mix for hummingbirds. Tell us you have no clue about birdfeeding without SAYING that you have no idea about bird feeding. A lot of her "cons" are purely based on ignorance. No one makes a bird feeder that sits flat on a table because that's a stupid, stupid idea to make birds vulnerable to predators.

[@RachaelJohn]

This is a fantastic review, so many good points and suggestions. Thank you!

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

I'm glad you found it helpful and thanks for sharing your compliments.

[@84westy55]

Not really. There are several "cons" that she lists that are based entirely on Erin not understanding how things work. I've listed them in a separate response, but complaining about a bird feeder not sitting flat on a table is, by far, the most ridiculous one, IMHO. Despite the lobbying efforts of the Snake, Fox, Squirrel, and Cat communities, having bird feeders on a table is a very, very dumb idea.

[@84westy55]

Brand new Bird Buddy Hummingbird Feeder owner here. Zero connection to the company aside from backing the Hummer kickstarter. Many of the issues you raise in this video are downright silly and lean *strongly* towards you hunting for ways to "fill up the Cons list". The things I list have broad ranging implications that I'm including to illustrate the effect eliminating some of these imaginary "cons" would have. Plug Tether The silicone plug not having a strap, really? That's not "another small corner cut"; that's an efficient design. You're already complaining about the price of the product, I somehow doubt you would have given them credit for charging MORE for a feature that lots of people will never use. Let's ignore the impact on the design of the camera and housing and manufacturing requirements that including a tether would cause for something that will be unused by a significant number of customers. They included FOUR silicone plugs with my Hummingbird feeder. They will NEVER be used since I have the solar roof. After a full week outside, I am at 98% battery. That's pretty impressive for a wireless, internet connected HD camera with a LASER MOTION DETECTOR. (Why wasn't that mentioned in the review?) Sample Food Including a "sample pack" of seeds is an absolutely HORRIBLE idea for one simple reason: rodents. Once again, let's ignore the fact that proper bird feeding seed mixes vary by region AND season and that adding what is very likely to be "garbage" seeds to a box costs money to produce, package, include in the shipment by the 3PL, then ship. (They do have a monthly bird seed subscription service that provides the proper diet, if you want.) Rodents will ALWAYS find food in a warehouse in a box. One Christmas Light Drive Through Show production company found that out the hard way when they included peppermints in their "Family Pack" add-on kit after the first year they sold it. The stock they'd planned to sell the next year was ravaged by rodents. Thank goodness Bird Buddy knows what a horrible idea that is. "Supposed AI" implies that they don't use AI which you later appreciate. Subscription Fees Wow. Offering extra features for a whopping THIRTY US DOLLARS per year is SO GREEDY! (Cost of introductory subscription offer for new members as of July 2024.) I had no problem jumping on that offer when I signed up last week because, get this, server storage, bandwidth, and processing costs money. Even at $60 a year, I think it's a reasonable price especially since, AFAIK, there's no additional charge for additional feeder cameras. Base Rocking Quite simply, it's not designed to sit on a table because that is an insanely bad idea. Why on earth would you want to GREATLY increase the chances for bird predators to get THEIR dinner (live! on camera!) and would render the feeder completely, totally vulnerable to squirrels, racoons, and everything else that eats seeds and bird feeders. Every now and then, when something doesn't work the way you want, it might just be due to the fact that there are VERY good reasons for it not to work that way. In a similar vein, I've seen people complain about the LG SideKick washers not working unless there is a washing machine on top of them. These people are, for some reason, NEVER engineers. If they were, perhaps they would understand that the weight of the washer is needed. Personally, I'm happy enough with everything that I now have a seed feeder on the way. I can't help but wonder to what price point you imagine is they could slash the price and correct all of these "cons" while the company remains profitable enough to keep the servers running and people answering the support tickets.

[@sherryk2528]

PLUG TETHER: Absolutely YES! When I pulled that thing out of the camera I was thinking to myself, "Where am I supposed to keep this so it doesn't get lost?" So yes, this is a fair comment. SAMPLE FOOD: YES again. For 200 dollars! Bird seed and suet are stored all the time. It could be incorporated into the cup provided, and properly packaged, so there wouldn't be a problem. SUBSCRIPTION FEES! For a $200 piece of plastic with a tiny camera. That is gouging...but isn't that capitalism for you. Shameful, and I'll never pay for it. ENGINEERS? Oh please, I'm married to one (PE). What looks good on paper doesn't always transfer to the real world. I can assure you, the price point wouldn't be 200+ dollars. But hey, I didn't buy mine, I'd just encourage others to not waste their money!

[@Imberserk4books]

Well said. I love my Bird Buddy

[@AmbientMess]

Another great review Erin! Any thoughts on MWC Barcelona so far if you've been keeping up news wise?

[@reggie2803]

Thanks for the honest review.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Thanks so much for watching ☺️

[@ronm6585]

Thanks for the review Erin.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Thanks for watching 😍

[@johnowens8530]

You make a lot of good comment after the bird feed comment. Sorry but yikes. Bird seed sitting on a shelf can grow mold, bugs, etc.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Good point.

[@10OF9OFBORG]

Thanks for sharing Erin! That’s unfortunately. I have seen someone in KZbin with different design of bird feeder with camera that attached to the window. That’s something you could take a looks this one. Take care and cheers! ☕️☕️

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

I'll check it out!

[@delschier1419]

I just got this bird feeder and thought it was a great present. Unfortunately it is a SCAM. The gift was for my wife and I and the app does not allow two people in the same house to use the live feed camera without paying $90 per year!

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

That's terrible!

[@oobenoob]

I love attracting birds to my garden but the sparrowhawk keeps eating them.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

😳😳😳

[@mannah3174]

Awesome Review!