I purchased this Birdfy feeder because I love birds and wanted to be able to safely observe the birds visiting my yard. Unfortunately, I have had an absolutely horrific experience with this feeder.
Two separate birds became trapped underneath the seed guard within four days.
The first bird became trapped while the feeder was completely full. I did not see it in time, and the bird ultimately died after being trapped for hours.
Four days later, another bird became trapped, again while the feeder was still mostly full. Thankfully, I happened to see it and was able to free the bird, but it had been trapped for hours and was being repeatedly attacked by other birds while it was unable to escape. It was extremely distressing to witness.
I have photographs documenting both incidents.
What makes this even more concerning is that Birdfy subsequently sent customers an email acknowledging that birds can become trapped underneath the seed guard and announced that they are developing a redesigned metal guard with smaller openings to reduce the risk.
Birdfy describes these incidents as extremely rare — 0.0075% according to their reported complaint data. I find that statistic difficult to reconcile with my experience of having two birds become trapped in the same feeder within four days, particularly because neither incident occurred when my feeder was low or empty, which Birdfy identifies as a contributing circumstance.
In fact, when I contacted Birdfy about what happened, they acknowledged that a bird can become trapped even when the feeder is completely or mostly full.
So the current recommendation to “keep the feeder filled” does not actually address the problem I experienced.
I understand that Birdfy is working on a redesigned seed guard, but the replacement is not currently available. That leaves customers like me with a feeder that has already resulted in one bird's death and another bird suffering for hours.
I love birds. I bought this feeder because I wanted to enjoy and observe them — not because I ever imagined the feeder itself could put them in danger.
I am extremely disappointed that a company specializing in bird feeders has a known design issue that can allow birds to become trapped, and that there is currently no immediate solution for customers who have experienced it.
Birdfy: please take this seriously and provide a safe solution for the current feeders, rather than asking customers to wait until the redesigned guard becomes available.
I would strongly encourage anyone who owns this feeder to be aware of this potential hazard and regularly check the feeder for trapped birds.
I sincerely hope Birdfy fixes this before another bird dies.