I love watching birds with the Bird Buddy smart feeder — and it's 40% off

One of the joys of having a backyard is that I now have space for a smart bird feeder, so I can watch all sorts of feathered friends — as well as marauding squirrels — fly into my backyard.

For a few years now, I've had a Bird Buddy set up in my yard (an original model as well as the newer v2), and it's been a real treat to not only get up-close-and-personal videos, but also to learn more about the creatures.

As a real treat, you can currently get the Bird Buddy for $249 at Bird Buddy, making it a great time to pick one up if you've been on the fence. It's one of my favorite Memorial Day sales right now.

Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Pro Solar: was $359 now $249 at mybirdbuddy.com

While the base model Bird Buddy is on sale for just $199, I recommend picking up the Solar model, so you won't have to worry about recharging the battery. This smart bird feeder has a camera that records photos and videos of the birds at the feeder, and it uses AI to identify them for you, too.

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By default, the Bird Buddy records video at resolutions of up to 2K, and take 5 MP snapshots.

I like that, even without a subscription, the Bird Buddy will let you view birds at a fairly high resolution, and will even save a limited number of clips, which you can download to your phone.

The videos that the Bird Buddy takes are wonderfully colorful and crisp — you can see individual feathers — and the camera can also record audio, so you can hear the birds chirp.

One of the neat things about the Bird Buddy is that its AI can also identify individual species, and will send you alerts if a new type of bird arrives at the feeder.

Bird Feeder 2 - YouTube

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While you don't need to sign up for a subscription (which costs $90/year), it confers a few more benefits, including higher-definition 2K video, the ability to name specific birds - so you can identify repeat visitors - and let you view Bird Buddy feeders from around the world. Membership also lets you test out beta features the company is working on.

A subscription also lets you connect the Bird Buddy to an Alexa smart display, so that you can stream a feed from the feeder directly to a larger screen.

Bird Feeder 3 - YouTube

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Bird Buddy's discounts aren't just limited to its smart bird feeder; the company is also selling the Smart Hummingbird Feeder Pro Solar for $259, a savings of 28% off its regular price. If you want to attract hummingbirds to your yard, this is another way to do so — and see them in action.

Regardless of the model you pick, I would recommend getting the solar version. In the whole time I've used the Bird Buddy solar model, I've never once had to charge its battery myself, even through the dead of winter.

Now, if only there were a way to keep the squirrels out...