From The Verge · Thomas Ricker · · 1m 10s
Smart bird feeder backfires with pigeons and mice
Thomas Ricker's AI-powered Kiwibit feeder attracted the wrong guests, turning his garden into a pest buffet.
In brief
Thomas Ricker's AI-powered Kiwibit feeder attracted the wrong guests, turning his garden into a pest buffet. A three hundred fifty dollar smart bird feeder successfully identified songbirds but attracted pigeons and mice, forcing the owner to abandon it after weeks. Originally reported by The Verge.
Songbirds flock to the new feeder
Thomas Ricker mounted a three hundred fifty dollar Kiwibit Bird Feeder 2 Pro in his garden. Within weeks, dozens of colorful birds arrived, identified by AI alerts as Great Tits and Eurasian Blue Tits.
“Looks like Great Tit!”
The feeder delivers crisp video and data
Ricker enjoyed watching the birds in four K HDR video and reading about their migration habits and diet through the Kiwibit app. He looked for unique markings to name his new garden visitors.
A pigeon arrives and takes over
An alert announced a Common Wood Pigeon.The fat bird blocked the camera lens and ignored the Nuisance Animal Alarm.
“Looks like Common Wood Pigeon!”
Mice follow the pigeons, feeder goes away
Mice arrived below the feeder to feast on fallen seeds. Admitting defeat, Ricker dismounted the expensive bird feeder and shoved it into a closet. He suggests starting with something simple and inexpensive instead.
“you can't return a used feeder just because it attracts pests”
The main idea
A three hundred fifty dollar smart bird feeder successfully identified songbirds but attracted pigeons and mice, forcing the owner to abandon it after weeks.
