By Jonathan Boydston, Taking The Kids correspondent

The FeatherSnap smart solar-powered bird feeder has completely transformed our backyard bird watching.

Our family has enjoyed feeding the finches, chickadees and other avian visitors since picking up the hobby while stuck at home during Covid. But nowadays, as we spend more time away from home, our old bird feeders often go unnoticed.

The FeatherSnap’s camera feature lets us have the best of both worlds: we can take time to watch our backyard birds without needing to be at home.

Plus, the FeatherSnap gives us great up close views of blue jays, goldfinches, flickers and other beautiful birds through the crisp photos or livestream. It has made watching the birds so entertaining for our three year old who is still figuring out his kid binoculars. And be sure to turn up the volume when you watch the livestream to hear your songbird visitors in action.

FeatherSnap Scout Solar Powered bird feeder
FeatherSnap Scout Solar Powered bird feeder

The FeatherSnap is easy to setup and install and lets you go from opening the box to watching the birds in no time. The solar charging and wifi antenna performance has been exceptional. Even with near constant birds some days the battery stays charged and our regular wifi inside the house reaches the bird feeder outside without issue.

The FeatherSnap also features AI bird identification technology and lets you easily track which species you see, with a small monthly fee. If you don’t feel like paying the monthly subscription, the FeatherSnap still lets you easily view your photographed birds through their convenient app. If you are somewhat familiar with the types of birds that might drop by your house then you might choose to skip the AI bird identification anyway. For our family, letting our kiddo learn the sights and sounds of the neighborhood birds is the best part.

The FeatherSnap Scout retails for $179.