Birdfy Bath Pro Smart Birdbath Review
Birdbaths aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think ‘smart garden tech’ but Birdfy has changed that with the Bath Pro. By combining cameras, a fountain and solar panels, it transforms a simple water dish into an interactive little wildlife observatory. You can watch your feathery visitors drink, bathe, and play, while the fountain adds a touch of motion and charm to the garden. We’ve had one up and running for over a month to see whether it truly lives up to the promise of being a worthwhile upgrade over a traditional birdbath for £369?
Design
Available in a pale blue or off-white, the Birdfy Bath Pro Smart Birdbath takes a softly modern approach to its appearance. The muted colour options are gentle and unobtrusive, making it easy to coordinate with patio furniture, decking, or a landscaped garden. Its circular basin rests neatly on a clean-lined pedestal stand, giving it a purposeful but minimal profile rather than anything overly ornate. In a garden setting, it blends in more like a thoughtfully placed water feature than a piece of tech. It works well alongside modern landscaping styles, whether surrounded by gravel, decking, planters, or tucked amongst flower borders. It looks more ‘garden accent’ than ‘gadget’, which is a clever choice for a connected birdbath.
Importantly, its body is UV-resistant, so the finish should hold up to sun exposure without fading. It’s simple to maintain too—draining the bath is easily accomplished via the twist removal of the fountain component. This allows for a flat surface that can be wiped clean in one sweep, helping you keep the water fresh for visiting birds.
At 5kg with the stand attached, it feels reassuringly stable and shouldn’t blow over in the wind. The proportions are well considered: the basin holds 3.5 L of water, with a depth of 4.2cm and a diameter of 41cm, while the total height after installation is 76.5cm. These dimensions strike a nice balance—elevated enough to discourage ground predators yet not so tall that it feels imposing.
Assembly
Instructions made the process of putting the pieces together rather easy. Placing the birdbath portion onto the pedestal stand is straightforward, with each section clicking or fastening into place. The fountain module drops neatly into the centre of the basin, and from there it’s just a matter of connecting the included power cable.
All told, it’s a 5–10 minute setup job, even if you’re not particularly handy. The stand feels sturdy once assembled, and the weight of the filled basin adds extra stability. It’s light enough without water to move around the garden if you want to adjust its position.
Does it work?
The fountain portion is very effective. It doesn’t house a battery, but instead uses a cleverly concealed solar panel, which also acts as a textured surface, to power the motor. Even on dull days there’s activity, though when it’s completely overcast the fountain slows or stops. Most of the time, though, we glance out and see water splashing into the air, which makes for a pleasant water feature in its own right. The effect can be customised with the three interchangeable nozzles supplied. We particularly like the tip that projects water upwards into a fountain, but there are also slower-flow options that might be more appealing to birds or even curious squirrels. We’re still experimenting.
The camera is fully integrated into the birdbath, and unlike every other Birdfy feeder product we’ve tested, the Bath Pro’s roof is its solar panel. At first we were unsure how well this would work, since you can’t adjust the panel’s positioning, but in practice it has been faultless. By sundown each day the battery sits at 100%, and just like their smart feeders, it works so smoothly you forget to even think about power.
Getting birds to actually use the birdbath has proven trickier than enticing them to a feeder. It’s possible the newness is making them wary, but we’re hopeful that once a few start using it, others will quickly follow. When a bird does take the plunge, AI recognition of species is as reliable as we’ve come to expect; accurate most of the time. App notifications are sent the moment a bird is detected, with the species identified in the alert. The Birdfy app itself is well designed, offering full control over the camera, recording options, alarm functions, and even the ability to speak through the app so your voice plays out of the built-in speaker.
Camera Quality
Coming from reviewing the Birdfy Feeder 2 Duo earlier this year, which had better camera quality than version 1, it’s quite surprising to see this birdbath from Birdfy deliver what appears to be even sharper imagery from the main 2K portrait camera. Foreground detail is remarkably crisp, highlighting feather colour and texture, beak detail, and even individual water droplets repelling off a bird after bathing.
The upper lens captures at 2K resolution, while the lower lens records at 1080P with a wide view. The 1080P lens also tilts to pan left and right, and through the app you can tap on the 2K portrait view to control this manually in a split-screen layout. With video recordings, the 1080P lens can trace subjects as they move around, often resulting in more dynamic and entertaining footage than the static 2K lens. Its quality isn’t as sharp as the 2K camera, which excels at fine detail, but both deliver smooth, fluid video with no choppiness or graininess. The resulting clips are easily good enough for social media or for identifying species in both bright sunlight and dull, overcast conditions. At night, there’s no dedicated night vision, but the built-in LED lights can be enabled to give a surprisingly clear and bright view of the bath and nearby surroundings.
One caveat is that on windy days, the fountain can splash onto the lenses, causing blur. It’s worth considering wind direction and shelter when choosing a location in your garden.
Verdict
It’s a nice and simple design that doesn’t require any major maintenance over a traditional birdbath; you just need to top up the water every so often. Its fountain adds a charming mini water feature to your garden, adding a layer of interactivity and observation, powered by its own discreet solar panel. The integrated dual-lens camera runs 24 hours a day thanks to the solar roof and internal battery, capturing crisp footage in daylight and, with the aid of LED lighting, at night for any nocturnal visitors.
The only real hurdle is encouraging the birds themselves. They can be more hesitant to use a new birdbath than a feeder, and that’s been our experience here so far. Patience is likely required, but once the first few take the plunge, we expect more will follow.
