Project FeederWatch vs Hello Birdie
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Project FeederWatch
Easily report bird sightings from your feeder for scientific research. Track your statistics, access past counts, and learn about local feeder birds. Contribute to a large database that aids conservation efforts.
- Report winter bird sightings
- Track sighting statistics
- Access past count archives
- Contribute to bird population database
- Discover best food and feeder types
- Identify and learn about feeder birds
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Do you feed birds? You can report what you see for science. Project FeederWatch, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, monitors winter feeder-bird populations in North America. The FeederWatch Mobile App is a new way for Project FeederWatch members to contribute their bird counts. Sign in to: •Report birds that visit your count site in winter (US and Canada only) •Track your sighting statistics in real time •Access your archive of past counts from all years •Contribute to North America’s largest database on feeder birds •Find out what food and feeder types work best for the birds overwintering near you •Identify and learn about feeder birds FeederWatch Mobile automatically syncs with the web version for seamless multi-platform support. Your data become immediately available for scientific research, education, and conservation. Thank you for helping birds!
Hello Birdie
This app connects to a smart bird feeder to let you see and share photos and videos of visiting birds. It uses AI to identify species and allows you to share your camera feed with others.
- Connects to smart bird feeder
- Bird visitor notifications
- AI bird identification
- Photo and video sharing
- Live camera feed sharing
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The Hello Birdie App is the companion to the Hello Birdie Smart Bird Feeder! This app makes it easy to see & share birds that visit your Hello Birdie. with artificial intelligence as well, so you can learn about the birds you see! KEY FEATURES - Connects to the Hello Birdie Feeder - Get notified about feathered visitors - Identify birds using AI recognition - Send photos & videos to friends and family - Share your camera with other Hello Birdie App users
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Project FeederWatch at 3.0 against Hello Birdie's 2.6. Hello Birdie's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Project FeederWatch holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 28 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Project FeederWatch's written reviews are positive against 31% of Hello Birdie's.
Project FeederWatch ships an update every 2 months, Hello Birdie every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Project FeederWatch | Hello Birdie |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (68 ratings) — better | 2.6 (28 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better | 31.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 68 — better | 28 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cornell University | Limitless Innovations, Inc |
Customer experience
Project FeederWatch
Hello Birdie
Bugs and requests
Project FeederWatch
Reported bugs
40 issues- Birds saved then disappear
- Counts get lost
- Entries not saved consistently
- Part of data not recorded
- App deletes counts
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- App freezes/hangs regularly
- Connection fails repeatedly
- App is slow to respond
- Opens to a blank black screen
- App doesn't recognize submitted through browser
- Entering total observation doesn't work
- Freezes after entering most data
- Frequent freezes and server problems
- App freezes when coming up
- App freezes frequently on iPad Pro
- Forced to close and reload app
- No way to enter data offline
- App freezes after using for 2 minutes
- Login problem fixed but causes freezing
- Login fails, incorrect password/account not activated
- Cannot alter/fix incorrect bird count
- Cannot delete sightings
- Cannot zero out a bird count
- Account not activated message
- Latest update doesn't work
- Server doesn't want to connect
- App doesn't connect
- Screen goes all black
- Logins become a nightmare for months
- App goes to a totally black screen after appearing to be launching
- Lost bird count due to black screen lock up
- Regularly fails to recognize login
- Zero observations reported initially
- Cannot log in, account not activated
- App doesn't work at all after update
- App directs to log in on website, but still doesn't load data
- Can't enter dates correctly
- App doesn't report a problem with version, but newer version exists
- Repeatedly freezes to the point of needing to power off/on
- Froze if left open too long
Requested features
19 requests- Fix data loss issues
- Improve app stability
- Resolve login problems
- Add offline data entry
- Provide taxonomic sort option
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- Enable data entry by alpha code
- Fix blank black screen on launch
- Allow alteration/deletion of incorrect counts
- Add French language version
- Improve iPad functionality
- Make app more robust for all users
- Ensure consistent data saving
- Fix server connection issues
- Update app more frequently
- Improve user interface for better screen utilization
- Fix issues with switching between apps
- Allow editing of submitted counts
- Improve handling of large counts
- Ensure all species counts are saved
Hello Birdie
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Project FeederWatch
No in-app purchases
Hello Birdie
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Project FeederWatch free?
Is Hello Birdie free?
Which has better reviews, Project FeederWatch or Hello Birdie?
Do Project FeederWatch or Hello Birdie have ads?
Which is updated more often, Project FeederWatch or Hello Birdie?
Other comparisons
