This Feeder Doubles as a Photo Booth for Birds

Wildlife photography can get expensive. Trying to capture good photos of birds usually leaves photographers pining for a telephoto lens with just a little more reach, a step that will inevitably lead you down the path towards multi-thousand-dollar lenses. Animals are often wary of approaching humans; having a better zoom means you’ll have less chance of scaring them off.

The alternative approach—the one pitched by the makers of the Bird Photo Booth—is to let the birds come to you. Invented by Bryson Lovett, says PetaPixel, “the hardwood feeder uses food to lure your feathery friends into closeup portrait sessions. Photographs can be snapped remotely by pairing your iPhone with an iPad that’s running a remote camera app.” Alternatively, a small video camera can mounted in the housing, as was done to produce the clip above. Like the camera traps often employed in wildlife research, the goal is to get you within range to get a nice photo without disturbing the animal.

More from Smithsonian.com:

This Camera Trap Snared a Bonanza of Indonesian Wildlife

Colin Schultz | | READ MORE

Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He blogs for Smart News and contributes to the American Geophysical Union. He has a B.Sc. in physical science and philosophy, and a M.A. in journalism.