Birdfy Bath Pro review: A brilliant bird’s-eye view of your garden
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Dual cameras, clever bird recognition and a solar fountain turn this bird bath into garden entertainment. It’s an indulgence, but there’s plenty to enjoy
There’s something wonderfully fulfilling about giving the birds in your garden a bath to drink from and bathe in. But if fitting that bath with a camera, artificial intelligence, and a solar-powered fountain feels like a step too far, look away now.
If, however, you feel excited by the prospect of being fed close-up footage of your feathered friends enjoying your kind hospitality, this might be the ideal gadget for you.
Smart bird feeders have been around for a while now, and one of the market leaders in this tech, Birdfy, has put that tech into a bird bath. And the new Bath Pro might just be the most indulgent garden accessory out there.
Sure, you can satisfy the birds with a shallow bowl of water, but where's the fun in that? This marvellous piece of tech combines somewhere for birds to drink and bathe with a connected camera that lets you watch the visitors from your smartphone - wherever you happen to be.
There's an offer on at the moment, bringing the price down from a rather excessive £349.99 to a slightly more palatable £259.99. You also get lifetime AI recognition now, thanks to a new pledge by Birdfy, so there's no need for a subscription.
An impressive piece of tech, then, but is it worth the money?
What I liked about the Birdfy Bath Pro
The dual-lens camera is the most interesting part of the setup. One lens captures a wider view of proceedings in Full HD, while the other provides higher-resolution 2K portraits, automatically framing visiting birds.
This can mean you could place the bath near a feeder, and even if your resident pigeon doesn't need a drink, you'll capture it feasting on some seed.
The Birdfy app provides live viewing, automatic recordings, and notifications when birds arrive.
The really clever bit is the AI species identification, which can recognise more than 6,000 species. This is a feature that's been honed over several generations. I've tested the early models and they were pretty good, but the latest tech is seriously impressive. Not infallible, but very impressive. The best bit, though, is that Birdfy now gives this feature free, for life. It used to be chargeable, so this is a very strong incentive to dive into this tech.
Solar power is another sensible inclusion for a garden gadget. The camera and fountain have their own solar panels, helping avoid the need to run a power cable across the lawn.
What I didn’t like about the Birdfy Bath Pro
The price needs some perspective. If your priority is simply providing drinking and bathing water, there are much cheaper ways to do it. You’re paying for the camera system and the entertainment as much as the bath itself.
Positioning also involves a few competing requirements. You need somewhere suitable for visiting birds, within reach of your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, with enough sunlight for the solar equipment.
Solar panels are useful, but I wouldn’t treat them as a promise of maintenance-free operation through a British winter. The fountain’s performance depends on the available sunshine. If it's in the shade, it will splutter intermittently. In the sun it's great, but it's very much a fair-weather performer.
That said, I haven't needed to charge the camera's battery at all yet, so no qualms there.
There's also no getting around the fact that this is a bowl of water. Leaves, dirt and the inevitable "contributions" from its visitors mean regular cleaning and fresh water are still necessary. But that's just sensible hygiene with any bird station.
While your recordings are saved for you, they store on a loop, so you'll lose old footage unless you upgrade the service. At a cost.
Overall verdict: Should you buy a Birdfy Bath Pro?
There's no argument about it, this is an appealing combination of wildlife watching and garden technology. The dual-camera arrangement is brilliant, it's a talking point on the patio, and you'll never tire of seeing what new visitors have called in for a wash or a drink.
The price makes it a considered purchase though, and placement, cleaning and winter care are all another thing to factor in.
If you already enjoy watching garden birds and want a closer view of their daily routines, there’s plenty to like about this bit of kit. It turns an ordinary garden feature into a potential source of discovery and entertainment, without asking the birds to do anything beyond turn up.