Tech for Nature start-up launches new products on Kickstarter with exclusive early bird deals for up to 25 percent off New products use same built-in AI recognition tech and modular camera as their original popular Smart Bird FeederBird Buddy is one of Kickstarter’s best-performing alumni with first campaign in its top 1 percent most funded projects

KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Bird Buddy has launched a crowdfunding campaign for the world’s first AI-powered Smart Hummingbird Feeder and Smart Bird Bath following a successful prototype reveal at CES 2023 which took the event by storm. The Tech for Nature start-up has returned to Kickstarter with the new products available for pre-order on the platform at a discounted price from May 16th 2023 until June 16th, 2023. The products have been developed in response to demand from the Bird Buddy community, who share a deep love and affection for hummingbirds, and the need for a bird bath to complement their original Smart Bird Feeder. Early backers can enjoy up to 25 percent off as well as exclusive bundles in helping to meet a target $100,000 raise.

Bird Buddy’s Smart Hummingbird Feeder is designed to provide up close and personal views of our tiniest, beloved feathered friends like never before. It recognizes all common hummingbird species in North America, and captures exceptional photos and videos of these quick-moving wonders. In addition to hummingbirds, these feeders may also attract bees and butterflies, ever-increasing the biodiversity of any backyard. The feeder comes with or without a solar roof, using the same Bird Buddy camera module with 5 megapixels and HD video, a 120° field of view and built-in microphone which allows existing users the option to swap their camera between feeders. Since revealing the prototype in January this year, clamor for the feeder has been unprecedented, with content from the test feeders exciting many hummingbird fans.

Commenting on the new products, Dejan Bjordan, Bird Buddy’s in-house Ornithologist said:

“Hummingbirds elicit such affection in bird enthusiasts; their beautiful flash colors, rapid wing action and hovering tendencies means it’s really challenging to obtain high quality images, let alone identify their species. Our smart feeder has been specifically designed so that you can enjoy these delights from the ease of your smartphone or tablet wherever you are, much the same as our original feeder.”

“Our Smart Bird Bath offers a fun new way to capture new photos and videos of your favorite avian friends.  In the warm months of summer when temperatures rise, bird baths call to a wide variety of birds, from raptors to seed-eating birds so it’s a neat way to invite more species of native birds to your backyard. If every household created a diverse, thriving ecosystem in their backyard, the collective impact would be tremendous.”

As a crowd-sourced business with over 100,000 Smart Bird Feeder units now shipped worldwide, the Bird Buddy community is at the heart of the team’s new product development – both as a gadget and an app. Through the community, Bird Buddy has also created its citizen science platform, Bird Buddy’s Heartbeat, which provides real time sightings across its network with open source datasets available for scientists to use.

Speaking about the importance of the community, Franci Zidar, CEO, Bird Buddy said:

“Thousands of Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder owners as well as bird lovers around the world have helped us design these new products. We’ve had dozens of beta testers from our community who have put our prototypes to the ultimate test in their backyards, giving us real-time feedback and suggestions. Our community has also played a key role in shaping our app development, with the new Birdbuddy TV being a particular big hit. Having been so deeply supported by our customers and Kickstarter’s leaders, it is only natural that we have returned to the community-based platform to launch our new products. We could not be more excited about offering more people even greater chances to reconnect with nature, in their own backyards and beyond.”

Heather Swift Hunt, Head of Design & Tech, Kickstarter said:

“Bird Buddy saw tremendous support for their last project from a passionate community on Kickstarter: 22,925 bird lovers backed nearly $4.6 million on our platform alone to help bring it to life, making it one of the biggest projects of 2021. While that number was impressive, even more impressive was seeing them ship and deliver all those products to excited backers, and seeing those backers share their images, stories and enthusiasm with each other and the world. Bird Buddy is the best of what Kickstarter is all about.”

The new Kickstarter is now live and people can visit this page to participate and secure their choice in products and be a part of the flock. 

The Kickstarter media kit is here.

Bird Buddy data

Number of current active feeders: 65,000We have active feeders in 113 countriesTotal number of photos and videos taken: 100 Million+

Total number of species identified to date: 472 (recognized by AI or manual review)Total number (ave) of photos / videos captured per day: ~837k per day
            – Photos: 674k per day
            – Video: 163K per dayBird Buddy Live Heartbeat: https://live.mybirdbuddy.com/.
            Context: https://blog.mybirdbuddy.com/post/bird-buddy-visits-live

Smart Hummingbird Feeder product specs

Hummingbird Feeder HousingOptional solar roof add-on to decrease charging needOptimal 12-ounce nectar containerBird Buddy camera module with 5 megapixels and HD video, a 120° field of view and built-in microphoneStainless steel hanging wireUSB-C charging cableTwo cleaning brushes (for reservoir and ports)Designed for easy camera transferSecure camera-mounting magnetsEasy disassembly and cleaningThe feeder is made of ASA, an outdoor rated, ultra-durable and recyclable plastic.The feeder housing is Made in the USA, along with the final assembly of the unit.Height – 8.5in. | 215mmWidth – 5.75 in. | 145mmDepth – 6.5 in. | 165mmWeight – ~2lbs.

*The camera module is interchangeable with any Bird Buddy housing.

Smart Bird Bath product specs

Bird Bath HousingBird Buddy camera module with 5 megapixels and HD video, a 120° field of view and built-in microphoneUSB-C Charging cableUniversal Mount and screwsShort pole mount for the lawnOptional add-on solar panel with solar-powered water fountainThe feeder is made of ASA, an outdoor rated, ultra-durable and recyclable plastic.14-inches in diameter

Bird Buddy awards

CES 2022 honoree x 3SXSW Innovation Award for AI 2023Best of Kickstarter AwardIDEA Silver Award 2022Spoga + Gafa Gardena Pitch Award 2022

About Bird Buddy
Bird Buddy created and developed the world’s first smart AI-powered bird feeder that instantly snaps and recognizes the species feeding at the unit. This has rejuvenated a traditional and popular hobby of bird watching and enables daily bite-sized connections with nature any time, anywhere. It notifies users whenever a bird stops by, sending one of those rare notifications that will bring them joy instead of stress.

The built-in technology allows users to capture beautiful photos and video clips of their featherly visitors and the Bird Buddy app gamifies the experience by recognizing birds and organizing them in a “Pokémon GO like” collection.

Users regularly share their images on the Bird Buddy social wall: https://social.mybirdbuddy.com. Furthermore, opted in community members provide real time reports of sightings through the Bird Buddy Heartbeat platform creating open source citizen science datasets: https://live.mybirdbuddy.com

Bird Buddy has three co-founders: Ziga Vrtacic, Franci Zidar and Kyle Buzzard.

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SOURCE Bird Buddy