A detailed product review of the NetView Birdfy Smart Bird House with Solar Charging
- Birds of West Cobb
- Apr 25
- 8 min read
In this blog post we'll discuss the NetView Birdfy Smart Bird House with Solar Charging. We have several birdhouses in our yard and each year we have to be careful about adding reducers when smaller birds take up residence in a house made for a Bluebird. This year was no different! Carolina Chickadees moved into this nesting box just a few weeks after mounting it to a pole.
Each year, for at least the last 4-5 years, we've been lucky enough to have Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches nest in our yard. Between our yard and our neighbor's yard we have a tree that has hosted Red-bellied Woodpeckers for several years. Carolina Wrens have lived in a glass vase on our porch that we bought for some fake Spring flowers to sit in, and American Robins have lived in a Sweetgum tree or our enormous Camelia bush for many of the last few years. We LOVE to see the growth phases of the babies when they hatch and initially we just purchased a flexible mechanic's boroscope camera that has dual lenses, and an adjustable LED light. This has helped us volunteering at Kemp Park for the Nest box checks as it is good enough to peak inside and count the eggs, and usually we can differentiate between 4 hatchlings and 5, but sometimes it's tough depending on lighting and the positioning of the hatchlings. This year we wanted to try another route - as we have tested the Netview Birdfy Hum Feeder Duo and the classic Netview Birdfy Smart feeder, we figured that without the direct sunlight issues flaring the lens we would have much better results - so far, we have!
Unboxing the Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse with Solar
The packaging is well thought-out and really pops when you see it. The graphics and text on the carton are easy to see and read, and a good bit of detail is provided. It's also easy to open and once you've pulled out the Birdhouse, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how little construction is required on your behalf. Unwrap the batter and camera, remove the film from the solar panel on the roof, slide the camera into it's mounting bracket within the roof of the birdhouse, power it on, and you are basically ready to mount it onto a pole. For a pole & baffle recommendation, scroll to the end of this blog and we'll provide some accessories that we would use (and already do!)
We initially assembled the birdhouse, (It's mostly assembled already, you just need to connect the camera to the solar panel which is a snap, sync the camera with your smart phone, and set the birdhouse out on a birdhouse pole with a baffle.) This is a crucial detail folks! The right baffles can prevent rodents like squirrels or even rats, from climbing to the feeder and gnawing on the birdhouse or destroying the nests. Further, Raccoons and Possums also enjoy getting a quick and easy meal by reaching into a bird nest box and grabbing some quick protein snacks. For these reasons it is very important to refrain from mounting your nest box to a tree trunk, avoid mounting them on fence posts or even your deck. By doing so, you're decreasing the chances of survival for any hatchlings!
When we mounted the Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse, the battery was only charged up to about 53%. It was overcast outside for several days, even a little rainy. We had our doubts that the battery would charge up enough once we finally had a sunny day. But 3 or 4 days in, we had a bright, beautiful morning and within a few hours I checked the status of the charging with my Birdfy app on my phone, and was shocked (pun intended) to see that the battery was up to 100% charge. That is outstanding!
Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse with Solar - Construction Quality
I won't say that we are bird snobs but over the years we have learned quite a bit about birdhouses/nestboxes and this ticks all of the right boxes. For example, the dimensions of the box are correct for an Eastern Bluebird box, there is ample ventilation at the top and the bottom there are mitered corners so that rain (or other fluid) can easily drain out. The bottom of the box has a removable metal screen that raises the nest a tiny bit off the floor as well, so there is more ventilation and nesting material can remain more dry. All of the corners of the box are neatly cut and there are no splinters hanging out in your way when handling it. The front door pivots open for easy nest clean-out or camera wipe down. It latches closed easily as well, so you can sleep easy knowing that your bird family doesn't fall out of a loose door. Another great note is that on the inside of the door is a series of shallow grooves cut into the wood so that parents and fledglings have an easier time climbing out of the box. See our image gallery below for these features and more!
Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse Initial Activity captured in March 2026
We intentionally mounted the birdhouse at the end of February. Here in Georgia, birds are curious and throughout each of our 17 or 18 "fake Spring" seasons, they get active and start looking at the bird houses that are available. Then a cold snap strikes again and they go back to their normal fluffy, hoarding food and trying to survive, Winter ways. It took about 3-4 weeks before we started to see regular activity but as soon as we did, there was some drama!
A Carolina Chickadee flew to the entrance and started inspecting the nest box construction for suitability. After a few trips, it flew up to the roof, looked below the house upward toward the floor from the top of the baffle, then flew off. A while later the Birdfy started alerting me that there was activity at the birdhouse. The first few notifications were triggered by shadows, where the Chickadee stood in the opening and blocked some sunlight, poked her head inside, and then flew off again. But finally she flew inside. After a couple of trips inside, Bobby (our resident male Eastern Bluebird) spotted the activity and immediately flew across the yard to defend his territory. He flew straight into the nestbox, cornering the Chickadee and for a moment stood over her. Watching from the camera across the yard (on our phones) we were terrified for a moment. Then DeeDee flew out from under Bobby, made it out of the box, and flew to safety.
This is the part where we tell you that you should keep hole reducers, at least 1-2 of them, ready to go for these situations. Bobby and Bella, the Bluebirds, already had begun to move into another nest box across the yard. Eastern Bluebirds require ~300ft between nest boxes or they become territorial and will fight other blue birds, or, if they can fit into the opening they will rough up smaller native birds too. This includes Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice which are all native. Chickadees and Nuthatches only have one brood per year, tufted titmice may have 2 in the South - so it's very important to keep them safe by installing that reducer as soon as you see them go inside. Once it's installed, the Bluebirds and other birds give up and move on.
Mobile App Usability, features and settings
We are Android users and have been for some time. The phones are relatively new/current models and we work in IT/Software so we keep them patched and up-to-date. Downloading the app from the Google Play store was quick and easy, and creating an account just takes a minute. We had an account already from testing the Netview Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder and the Netview Birdfy Hum Feeder Duo last year.
The app instructs you on how to setup the camera. A QR code will appear on your screen and you simply hold that in front of the camera until it beeps and pairs. You will need to have a 2.4Ghz wifi network available to download software updates and keep the connection from your bird house to your router back to your phone. Once you're paired to the birdhouse, you can open the app anytime, select your birdhouse and watch a live view of the inside of the box. You can toggle between SD (standard definition) or HD (high definition) video, and start a recording while you watch. What's better? The app can send you notifications (which we muted, but kept visible). To give you an idea, we received over 600 alerts during the nest building process alone! I don't want to hear notifications that often!
Network Range of the Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse with Solar
We have a 1 year old nighthawk router with 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz and once 2.4Ghz is enabled, it works quite well. If you didn't know, the reason many smart device manufacturers (cameras) prefer 2.4Ghz is that the range is much better than 5Ghz, and it penetrates walls/structures better. Our router is on the side of the house closest to where the birdhouse is mounted, ensuring good connectivity. Well what about the range? We have estimated our birdhouse is ~115 ft from our router and works well. Netview claims it works up to 100ft but we believe that this definitely exceeds the claim from them. We have had solid connections and live videos start streaming quickly and playbacks of recorded videos load quickly too!
Would we Recommend Buying a Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse with Solar?
We approve this product and have many great things to say about it. We have one quirk with the app where it seems to not show your activity until you swipe down to refresh the screen. After it populates you can go back through the list of options and play back videos from ~21 to 45 seconds long. If you're in the market for one, and having this type of insight into the nest box life is exciting to you, we defintely recommend getting one. If you're shopping in April, May or even June it's not too late - Eastern Bluebirds have multiple broods per year, especially here in the Southeast. We've had them brood in one box, move to another box and have their next brood. What are you waiting for?
Netview Birdfy Smart Birdhouse with Camera: Product Links and Must-Have Accessories
We used the "as-built" solar and the included battery pack and got up and running quickly. As mentioned above, you will definitely want a few additional items to set this up properly and safely, but here are the links for the key pieces mentioned here today:
NetView Birdfy Smart Bird House (Wood) with Solar (At the time of writing this the listed price is $169 and from time to time it goes on sale slightly.
Here is the Amazon product link
While the birdfy Smart Bird house includes mounting brackets, it does not include a mounting pole or a baffle. Here is a recommended pole and baffle with great reviews from other users. Product link
Hole reducers - it's not a matter of if, but when - a smaller bird species will take up residence in your box. To protect them against territorial blue birds, or European Starlings, House Sparrows or other nest pillagers, you'll want to reduce the hole size to a 1 1/4" hole. For that, we strongly recommend getting a few of these and keeping them ready during nesting season.