I’m not sure when birdwatching became so popular, but it seems everybody’s getting into it these days. If you want to see what all the fuss is about without leaving your couch, both Coolfly and Birdfy are discounting their camera-equipped bird feeders for a limited time. Right now, you can buy Coolfy’s Aura Smart Bird Feeder for $149.90 ($140 off), or the Birdfy Feeder from Amazon or Birdfy for $109.99 ($90 off). You can also add a solar panel to the latter for an extra $20 from Birdfy, or grab both the panel and lifetime AI-powered bird identification from Amazon or Birdfy for $149.99 ($110 off).
My colleague Jennifer Pattison Tuohy called the Aura Smart Bird Feeder an impressive package, praising its large seed hopper, exceptional battery life, and dual solar panels. She also liked its unique side-mounted camera, which provides a more natural, wider view of birds than many other smart feeders. It can capture up to 2.5K video with a 150-degree field of view and offers full-color night vision, cloud and local storage, and AI-powered identification of more than 10,000 bird species, all without a subscription.
Birdfy’s feeder offers many of the same perks for less, including 2K video, night vision, and AI-powered identification of more than 6,000 bird species. It also lets you watch visiting birds on your phone, set up notifications for when they stop by, and access recordings via the cloud. Unlike the Aura, however, solar charging and lifetime AI identification aren’t included by default, with a subscription running $49.99 a year if you don’t purchase a bundle.