Bird Feeders and Feeding Birds

Not sure what to feed the birds this fall and winter?
Fall is a great time to see migrants traveling through your yard.
You can lure them in for a closer look by providing something they want. The “science” of bird feeding can be confusing, so here’s some seed preference information to help you decide on a menu.

Black-oil Sunflower is the favorite seed of the greatest variety of birds. If you decide to stick to one seed only; this is the recommended seed because it works in any feeder type. Birds that choose this calorie packed seed include: goldfinches, pine siskins, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, finches, sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, mourning doves, grosbeaks, woodpeckers, and jays.

Sunflower Hearts or hulled black-oil sunflowers are a great alternative if you don’t want sunflowers sprouting or all those black hulls under you feeders. The seeds are not viable with their hulls removed so will not sprout. A trade off is that they may mold if left out in wet conditions. No cracking of a hull equals no work, fast food for birds, therefore, it is hard to find a seed eating bird that will not eat sunflower hearts.

White Proso Millet is another preferred seed by birds. It works best in platform feeders or ground feeders. Ground feeding birds, such as sparrows and juncos, are most often attracted to this seed. Other birds who like millet include mourning doves, finches and spotted towhees.

Seed Blends are a great way to attract a variety of birds. Watch out for “Wild Bird” mixes that use filler seeds, such as milo or wheat to take up volume. These inexpensive seeds make the price attractive, but are usually left behind by birds. We recommend blends with high percentages of sunflower mixed with white millet. You may want to try your own mixture for the birds in your backyard.

Cracked Corn is the cheapest and best offering for quail, pheasants, ducks, and doves, though most ground feeding sparrows, towhees, and juncos will eat it as well.

Thistle or Nyger Seed is a great specialty seed for finches. This import from Africa and Asia is sterilized before entry into the States, so no sprouting. This seed is the favorite of American goldfinches and pine siskins. Read more about Nyger Thistle >>

Suet, or beef kidney fat, is a great high calorie winter feeding option. Customers to your feeder, may include chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches and insect eaters-wrens, woodpeckers, bushtits and occasionally warblers-will eat suet.

Peanuts are becoming a popular feeding choice for jays, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. This is a favorite for squirrels too. Peanuts offer a great high-protein boost to winter-weary birds, and are eagerly accepted by insect-eating birds like wrens and woodpeckers as an alternative to suet.

Hummingbird Feeders
Niger Thistle Feeders
Window Feeders
Hopper Feeders
Tube Feeders
Suet Feeders
Platform and Tray Feeders
Squirrel Proof Feeders
Oriole Feeders
Other Wildlife Feeders