There are a lot of smart bird feeders out there in the market and while I have been intrigued by the idea of them, I often wondered if they are really worth it. When I got the chance to “test drive” the Kiwibit Bird Feeder 2 Pro 4K AI Camera with Solar Panel Smart Birdfeeder, I went for it. I was curious and decided it would be interesting to see which birds came to my feeder when I wasn’t looking.
When the box arrived in the mail, I was surprised by its weight. I thought ok, this is a solid piece of merchandise. Opening the box, I was impressed by the way Kiwibit had packed the feeder and all the well-thought out accessories! It was like opening a box packed by that company with the fruit emblem. Very cool. Very sustainable too.
The feeder was easy to put together with all the needed hardware. The instructions (in English, French, Spanish, German) did not wig me out like the instructions written by that Swedish home goods store we all like. I could actually follow the pictures and there were clear words explaining step-by-step how to assemble and set up the feeder. For fun I looked at the Spanish instructions and learned a few new words to add to my Spanish, like “comedero” for birdfeeder or “percha” for bird perch. The translation was accurate and clear. I was impressed with the accessories that came with the feeder and how solid and well-made they felt. The mounting hardware for wall or pole were made of strong metal and the accompanying screws were even stainless steel. I liked the inclusion of an optional hummingbird side feeder to attach on the feeder. The roof of the feeder has a built-in solar panel and slips on and off easily. The feed tray and the feeder body are well made, sturdy, and easy to remove to clean. After putting it all together, I liked what I had and was excited to get it up and running.
We decided to put the feeder next to the house with the wall mount accessory so our Wi-Fi system could connect to the “smartness” of the feeder easily. The wall mount was simple to install using a handheld drill and the provided drill template. Nice!
Next, I downloaded the Kiwibit App and paired the feeder to the App and I was up and running. Super easy!
The App is simple to navigate and has consistently worked well. I like how the homepage is laid out, cleanly with the key subject areas laid out at the bottom. There are “Live”, “Birds”, “Feeds”, “KBTV”, and “Me”. I enjoy the live streaming of birds feeding. I get some really fun, goofy bird’s eye looks. The feeder also records birds feeding up to around 3 minutes, if they are in the camera’s line of sight. Makes sense. I also enjoy getting notifications of what kind of bird is feeding, but if you find that annoying you can turn that feature off easily.
Under the “Me” section I get a Bird Report that tells me what this week’s birds are and who has been a frequent visitor. There is a trend analysis chart, a percentage of visits of each species, what the busiest day was, and at the bottom of this page a “collection progress” that lists all the birds (with pretty graphics of each bird) your feeder has hosted. This data page appeals to me and probably does to all the listers out there that like data. If my feeder were in the tropics, I think it would explode with the number of bird species visiting. However, my feeder is on the Atlantic coast next to the beach so I am seeing the birds that like the coastal environment and eat seeds like finches, sparrows, crows, and the occasional wayward junco. As the seasons come and go, I will be curious how the species might change. Maybe I will even get a vagrant bird stopping by, like that female Painted Bunting that stopped by for a day a couple of years ago and I just happened to be looking out when it dropped in. Imagine if I had had my smart feeder and it notified me that a rarity for my area was at my feeder! I would be thrilled as would all my local birders! I could host a stake-out party!
I have had the Kiwibit Bird Feeder 2 Pro 4K AI Camera with Solar Panel now for a few months and would definitely recommend it to anyone wishing to get a smart bird feeder because the components are quality, the user interface easy and simple, the camera feed clear and AI accurate, and they have one additional feature that I deeply appreciate and find quite professional: an easy feedback/questions section under the “Me” section. If a product is asking for feedback for continuous improvement, well…that is masterful, that is leadership, that is brilliant in my book.
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