The world of design is increasingly focused on solutions that bring the end user closer to nature and environmental awareness and, in recent years, many startups and brands have shown growing attention to these themes. One of them is Bird Buddy, an American company that, through its products, aims to foster a connection with the nature surrounding our homes.
Bird Buddy’s first success was the Smart Bird Feeder, TIME’s Best Invention of 2023 – a bird feeder launched on Kickstarter in 2020 that, thanks to AI technology integration, captures photos and videos of its visitors, identifies species, sends alerts in case of sick birds or predators, and even allows users to name the most frequent visitors. The feeder can also be enhanced with gadgets and accessories like a solar roof, a suet ball holder, or a perch designed for larger species.
This year, the company launched a new Kickstarter campaign for two new products that, once again, highlight the brand’s commitment to preserving natural habitats and biodiversity: Wonder Blocks and Petal. With a $100,000 funding goal, Bird Buddy received about $2.5 million in support from the online community. Unlike the first smart product, these are dedicated to pollinators and can be integrated into a fully functional Smart Nature Observatory.
Wonder Blocks is a modular smart system that allows you to create ecosystems to attract, shelter, and feed bees, insects, butterflies, and small birds in your yard, balcony, or garden. The main structure, called The Habitat, features an eye-catching design suitable for any outdoor space and a color palette inspired by nature. At its center is a base for native flowers with a self-watering system, and around it a small channel simulating a real stream, an essential element for pollinator health.
On the lower part of the base, there is a wooden drawer that can host solitary bees and provide space for new larvae, while above it, there’s a drawer for adding observation components. The Frame is the name of the magnetic trellis to which different accessories can be attached: the hummingbird feeder, the butterfly shelter, and the insect feeder.
Another key accessory in the system is Petal, the high-performance smart nature camera that helps identify floral and animal species (up to 2,000 different ones) and monitors their growth and health. The camera is designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, is fully waterproof and dustproof, making it suitable for year-round use. It can shoot 4K time-lapse videos and 12MP macro photos and is equipped with an LED ring that provides proper lighting for flora and fauna, improving performance in low-light conditions.
With high energy efficiency, a single charge provides several months of use. Thanks to the Macro or Wide lens, it provides information and alerts about what is happening inside or around the Wonder Blocks, respectively, and offers an Impact Score that quantifies biodiversity activity and contribution to the local ecosystem. Perhaps the most poetic aspect of Petal is the Nature’s Voice feature, which creates documentary-style videos with a narrator voice telling the story of what’s happening in “BBC Earth style.”
Another element that can be added to the smart observatory is the Wonder Hub, which stores images and videos locally, runs AI analysis on the device, and extends Wi-Fi coverage to keep the system connected without relying on the cloud.
As Franci Zidar, co-founder and CEO of Bird Buddy, stated: “Wonder Blocks is about more than just observing nature – it’s about understanding it, and helping it thrive. This is conservation made accessible, emotional, and intelligent.”