Birdfy Hum Feeder hands-on review

I’ll just say it; Hummingbirds are COOL. The amazing amounts of energy required to maintain this kind of airspeed is just awe-inspiring. But these little critters are notoriously hard to see and harder still to capture on photos or video… well, until now. Meet the Netvue Birdfy Hum Feeder. This nifty gadget is the world’s first dual-camera hummingbird feeder so you not only get a chance to pay your respects to the hummingbirds in the form of sweet sweet syrup, you also get the change to record those feedings too.

In this review I’ll show you what you’re getting with this hummingbird feeder, I’ll take a look into the special artificial intelligence or AI Bird identification that will help you differentiate among the hundreds of different kinds of hummingbirds—and if it really works.  I’ll show you the video quality, and then I’ll wrap things up with the pros and the cons and let you know if I think I can recommend this smart hummingbird feeder for you. You can also see my full review of the Birdfy Seed Feeder here.

Watch my full video review of Birdfy Hum Feeder review

What’s in the box?

Let’s take a look at what you get, since there’s a lot in here. Your main component is the feeder unit itself which consists of a base and 20 ounce liquid bottle.

The other main piece is a solar panel.

The other accessories are used for different types of mounting, and there’s a few extra pieces like rubber gaskets and stoppers as well as a cleaning brush.

Unlike the Birdfy seed feeder, the Hum Feeder only offers one way for mounting the solar panel, and that’s to attach the  panel to a nearby hard surface with screws and a bracket. (The Birdfy feeder comes with a flexible rubberized arm that converts to a hook. Even so you can bend this arm and kind of hook it over something nearby, so it will work in a pinch.

To begin though, I just ran the camera off its battery.

Battery Life & Charging

This feeder comes with a built-in 5,000 milliamp hour rechargeable battery. I will deduct a little point here only because you cannot remove the battery or the cameras and take them inside to charge; you’ve got to bring the whole feeder assembly in when it’s time to recharge. Now of course if you connect the included solar panel this will never be an issue.

**battery life

The Hum Feeder will operate in a temperature range of -10°C to 50°C (14°F to 122°F). If the temperature falls below this range, the cameras may not be able to boot up or record videos.

Build Quality: Not Your Average Bird-Feeder

The feeder is crafted with high-quality, durable materials that seem ready to brave the elements. Whether it’s scorching sun, drenching rain, or a surprise snow flurry, this feeder keeps its cool.

The feeder’s body is made from robust, clear BPA-free plastic – but not just any plastic, I’m glad to say. We’re talking about the high-grade, doesn’t-crack-or-yellow-after-two-weeks-in-the-sun kind. As for the feeding ports and perches, they’re made of the same sturdy BPA-free plastic except for its opaque glossy red finish.

The Birdfy Hum Feeder is engineered like it plans to host generations of hummingbirds. Its high-quality materials and well-thought-out design spell durability. But remember, just because it’s BPA-free and mold resistant doesn’t mean you can forget about cleaning it.

Speaking of well-thought-out design, there’s also an integrated ant moat at the top of the feeder’s body. This should prevent pesky ants from beating the hummingbirds to the nectar.

Set up and Installation

First up, charge the feeder fully, even if you plan to use the solar panel. To assemble and set up the feeder, fill the bottle with hummingbird nectar. You can buy some but it’s just sugar and water so it’s way cheaper to make your own. The bottle comes with a leakproof valve cap that will also allow nectar to flow so just invert the bottle and screw it into the base. Attach one of the hanging hooks and place it where you want.

You’ll also need to sign up for or sign into the Birdfy app which is where you’ll get your videos and photos. Once your feeder is charged, you can follow the quick steps in the Birdfy app to link the feeder to your phone. I was ready to watch in under 5 minutes.

It took us several weeks to start attracting hummingbirds, so I can say you’ll need to be patient.

A Peep into the Double-Vision Cameras

The star of the show has to be Birdfy’s dual-camera system. The premise is, it’s like having a wildlife documentary being filmed right in your garden, and you’re the director. The dual angles ensure you capture two different angles in HD: one from the front and the other from the side.

Whether it’s the fascinating dynamics of hummingbird hierarchies or just a candid snapshot of their dazzling wings, these cameras don’t miss a beat.

Since we’re on the topic, let’s look closer at the video quality.

Birdfy Hum Feeder video quality

I’ll start by saying the dual-angle capture is a great idea. Hummingbirds are fast and flighty and move quickly so having two cameras does help cover a wider angle.

Even so I was kind of disappointed with the video quality. The resolution just isn’t enough to get really good video or photos, and certainly not as good as the footage I got from the regular Birdfy bird feeder. From my hands-on experience, the photos and video are kind of blurry and the colour can be quite washed out. I tried the feeder in a handful of locations in my yard to try to get good light, and well the footage was generally OK, it’s definitely not high-quality. Definitely not as good as I was able to capture with my ipHone.

Cleaning and Maintenance

The BirdFy Hum Feeder does make up a lot of points for its great design.  It’s user-friendly and a cinch to clean and refill. It comes with two cleaning brushes – one for the nectar reservoir and another, much smaller one, for the artificial flowers where the birds draw the nectar from. As I noted before, there’s extra rubber gaskets and stoppers so you can replace those if needed.  The cameras can be wiped with a soft cloth to keep them clean and seeing clear. The overall design is nice to look at and sems to draw hummingbirds quite well.

Leaking feeder?

Speaking of cleaning and maintenance, I did notice that if you move the feeder around  a lot, it can sometimes leak. Birdfy actually addresses this on its website noting that you should try to keep the feeder level whenever possible. It wasn’t a huge problem, and did only happen when I relocated the feeder to other areas, so I think if I’m more careful with it in the future it won’t be an issue.

The Brainy Side: AI Bird ID Laying Down the Chirps

The other thing I did quite like about Birdfy Hum Feeder is Birdfy’s AI Identify feature is like having a birdwatching expert in your pocket, always ready to help you put a name to your winged visitors. And it doesn’t cost extra like some other feeders.

What puts Birdfy Hum Feeder ahead of the curve, aside from its extensive 150-hummingbird database and AI, is that if you’re smarter than the average birdwatcher you can use images from both HD cameras to make a more accurate identification.  From what little I know about hummingbirds, the ID’s seem accurate.

As for the mobile app, it’s also quite powerful that lets you set up real-time notifications, take screenshots, and download footage directly to your phone.

With your purchase you get lifetime free cloud storage that will keep your videos and photos for up to 30 days. I think that huge and put this feeder leaps and bounds above some other competitors which want to charge you a monthly fee.

Watch my review on Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder Camera

Overall review: Birdfy Hum Feeder

Overall I have some mixed feelings about this feeder. Let’s go over the pros and the cons so we can see where it takes flight and where it may want to return to the nest. On the pro side the design is fantastic and what you get in the package is certainly worth it. The fact that it comes with a solar panel also is outstanding. I like how easy it is to assemble and take apart to clean, and that bird fee included two brushes to keep everything tidy. The 20 ounce nectar bottle holds enough for about 2 weeks of feedings, from my testing, but of course this depends how often you’re getting visitors. It’s IP66 water and dustproof and has a big operating range so it’s built tough. I also really love that you’re getting free cloud storage for 30 days and free AI bird identification too.

On the downside, the video quality is not the greatest. While I am mentioning this, I am not surprised by it whatsoever. Trying to capture high-speed bird movement with an HD camera is not ideal. I think if the company is able to come out with a 4K resolution camera with this feeder, it will completely change the results of what you’ll be able to see. Now with that said you can certainly see the hummingbirds that visit your feeder and it is possible for both humans and artificial intelligence to identify them for you… So with this in mind the feeder is definitely doing its job.

I also didn’t love the fact the whole feeder has to be brought inside to recharge if you are not using the solar panel, and I would like to see the solar panel be designed a little bit differently; I think it’s a missed opportunity that the solar panel will not attach directly to the feeder. It needs to be wall-mounted or hooked over something which can limit its placement. I think it would’ve been all too easy to simply create a screw port for the flexible mounting arm right on the feeder so that you could attach it.

The only other thing I will point out is that because of the design of the interior of the feeder, it may leak if the feeder is tilted or tipped while moving it. Birdfy says this is an expected side effect.

Overall I love a lot of things about this feeder, but I think there are enough flaws and the price is high enough that I’m not ready to recommend it out of hand. I think if you know what you’re getting going in and what its shortcomings are and you’re willing to live with them, then you’ll probably really enjoy this feeder. And in fact as a straight up hummingbird feeder I think it’s fantastic and I’m going to continue to use it. I feel that Birdfy’s next generation hum feeder will probably sore to great heights so my advice would be to wait for a newer model which I hope will have 4K cameras and a better design for the solar panel.

Birdfy Hum Feeder with Solar Panel sells for about $319USD You can get it from Birdfy’s website or from Amazon. Check out Birdfy’s seed feeder which I do think is one of the best out there… right here.

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