Words On Birds 09-24-21

Quality Seed Attracts More Birds
September 24, 2021
By Steve Grinley

     Last week, I talked about getting your feeders ready for the fall season. To follow up on that is my familiar discussion of the various bird seeds and the birds that eat them. For perspective, once again I start with the story that has repeated itself each year in our store with different people and different seed mixes that were purchased, usually at a box store, recently:

     A young couple that came into the store with a bag of bird seed that they were given as a house warming gift. It was a brand that I didn’t recognize. The couple said that they had put it in their feeders and the birds just didn’t eat it. The birds came, pick at it, and most of it ended up on the ground. But it was not even being eaten on the ground, so they had had to sweep it up from under the feeders. They asked for my advice.

     When I opened the bag, I could see that the mixture was made up mostly of red millet and milo, a little cracked corn and a few, very few, sunflower seeds. I explained to the couple that there was very little sunflower in the mix and sunflower is what most birds prefer. Red millet and milo tend to be ignored by birds and the corn might be eaten by a few blackbirds or other ground feeders. It was a sorry indicator, though, if this seed wasn’t even being eaten on the ground. It was likely old seed from a “big box” store that may have sat in storage for some time.

     Sunflower is the seed that is favored by most backyard birds. Cardinals, chickadees, tufted titmice, nuthatches, finches, blue jays, grosbeaks and even woodpeckers like sunflower. Black-oil sunflower is the small, black seed with a thin shell that most birds can easily open and therefore attracts a large variety of birds. It has a higher fat content than the larger striped sunflower, which makes it a popular choice for winter bird feeding.

     Sunflower hearts is just the meat of the seed without the shell. It is more expensive, but there is no waste. This makes sunflower hearts more convenient when feeding on patios or over sensitive grass areas. Birds certainly prefer hulled sunflower, as it requires less effort on their part.

     There is also a less expensive sunflower blend, commercial known as “Meaties”, which consists of about 70% sunflower hearts and 30% black-oiled sunflower. It provides less mess at a more economical price. There are also other shell-free mixes that are usually high in sunflower but may contained shelled peanuts and other shell-less seeds- also a good choice.

     Safflower is a specialty seed that, when served alone or mixed with sunflower, cardinals savor. Our cardinals devoir the safflower, even before the sunflower in the same tray! Squirrels, pigeons and grackles reportedly don’t like safflower as well, so it is often served alone when trying to discourage those less-desirable guests. In the absence of sunflower, other birds such as house finches, chickadees, titmice and mourning doves also eat safflower. Golden safflower or Nutrasaff is a shell-less safflower that is relatively new on the market but, reportedly, more birds enjoy it while it still discourages squirrels and grackles.

     Thistle or Nyger seed is a favorite of goldfinches, house finches and, in winter, pine siskins and redpolls. Nyger is a small black seed that, unless mixed with other seed, is very light and will blow right out of a regular sunflower or mixed seed feeder. It needs its own feeder with tiny holes through which the finches pullout the seed.

     There is also a wild finch mix available that contains Nyger seed and fine sunflower chips which finches really love. This mix will fit through the small holes of a thistle feeder. Squirrels don’t usually bother with Nyger seed but they may be more attracted to a wild finch mix as that also contains the sunflower. The finches at my house prefer this finch mixture to straight Nyger any day. But I use baffles to keep squirrels away from most of my feeders.

     Shelled peanuts, popular in the United Kingdom for years, are becoming more popular here in the states. Placed in a separate mesh feeder, shelled peanuts attract woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, and blue jays. Blue jays also enjoy peanuts in the shell!

     White millet and cracked corn attract ground feeding birds such as sparrows, juncos, mourning doves and blackbirds (such as crows, redwings, grackles, and cowbirds.) A coarse cracked corn may also attract wild turkeys and, when close to water, mallard ducks.

     Many people use a seed mix to attract a variety of birds to a feeder. The better seed blends are high in sunflower and may contain sunflower hearts, peanut hearts, safflower and lower amounts of millet and/or cracked corn.’

     So do beware of the low cost discount or box store blends such as that couple experienced. First, you don’t know how long that seed has been sitting in a warehouse. Also, generic brands add a lot of filler seed to increase weight. Therefore you pay for twice: once at the counter and again when you have to sweep it up from under your feeders after the birds have discarded it. Most birds don’t eat milo, red millet and other filler seeds added to these mixes to increase the weight, so do read the ingredients label. Avoid any mixes with red seeds showing through their clear packaging. These are to attract you, the buyer – not the birds.

     A better, fresher, quality seed blend saves you in the long run, and the birds will prefer it as well!