Bird Seed

(We'll examine the BLENDS in a different article. There are some GREAT ones available. Click here to learn about the various bird seed blends available commercially.)

• Black Oil Sunflower Seed

  This seed is what I call the meat and potatoes of backyard bird watching. All the blends contain this seed, though the no-mess blends include it in a husked form. Nearly everything eats it, including Grackles, Starlings and yes--squirrels.

• Cracked Corn

  It's amazing how much wild life will eat cracked corn--Blue Jays, Wrens, Doves, Grosbeaks, Juncos, Pigeons, Towhees and Woodpeckers.

  But think of cracked corn as the ground chuck of bird food. Provide them with steak like the blends or black oil, and they'll ignore your ground chuck. Therefore, I reserve cracked corn for ducks which of course, won't eat from your feeders.

  However, I have found that in the heart of winter, many birds take advantage of a cracked corn offering. Also, if you squirrel proof your feeders, these critters are more apt to take you up cracked corn.

• Fruit

  Fruit is an awesome supplement to bird seed that you should be taking advantage of. Orange and apple halves, apple pieces, purple grapes, raisins and cherries are a favorite of many birds including:

  • Blue Jays
  • Cardinals
  • Grosbeaks
  • Doves
  • Juncos
  • Woodpeckers
  • Orioles
• Hulled sunflower (also know as sunflower chips, sunflower pieces, and sunflower hearts)

  

  This seed is simply black oil without the shell. It's great if you're looking to avoid the mess that standard sunflower hulls cause. However, it is pricey! BUT, remember, shells comprised twenty to thirty percent of the weight of a 20lb bag of black oil--hulled black oil is all seed.

  I look to feed it in a tube with a surrounding cage to keep out larger birds. However, many people opt to feed it from a hopper style feed so the cardinals have a chance to eat.

• Mealworms

  Most backyard bird watchers associate mealworms with Blue Birds. True enough, Blue Birds do eat mealworms. But take a look at this list of mealworm eaters:

  

  1. Blue Jays
  2. Blue Bird
  3. Cardinals
  4. Catbirds
  5. Chickadees
  6. Starlings
  7. Finches
  8. Grackles
  9. Grosbeaks
  10. Indigo Buntings
  11. Mockingbirds
  12. Nuthatches
  13. Robins
  14. Tanagers
  15. Titmice
  16. Towhees
  17. Woodpeckers

  So what is a mealworm?

  Literally, a mealworm is the larvae stage of the darkling beatle. To keep them in this stage, you'll need to keep them in your refrigerator.

  I prefer to deal with dehydrated mealworms. These mealworms are dried and do not require refrigeration. The same birds that eat live meal worms eat dehydrated mealworms as well.

• White Millet

  Put this bird seed on the ground for doves. Cardinals have been known to pick at it as well. Sparrows, finches, siskins and Towhees will eat it, too. I mainly use this relatively inexpensive seed to control Doves.

  It's a cheap way to feed them while keeping them out of your elevated feeders. Make no mistake, they will try to hit an elevated feeder, though they are not designed to do so.

  There is a blend called Deluxe that contains white millet. Back yard bird watchers will feed this bird seed in a hopper at an elevated pitch. Birds that eat at an elevated pitch will typically kick or beak sweep the white millet to the ground where doves and others will eat.

  If you want activity at two levels, it's a great blend. If bird seed on the ground is a problem to you, opt for a blend without white millet.

• Shelled peanuts (also called peanut pieces)

  Like mealworms, lots of birds eat peanuts. In this case, we are talking about peanuts without the shell, typically slicedinto small pieces. Take a look at the list of birds that will take you up on this, but keep in mind that squirrels, gracklesand starlings love them as well.

  1. Blue Jays
  2. Brown Thrashers
  3. Cardinals
  4. Chickadees
  5. Starlings
  6. Finches
  7. Flickers
  8. Juncos
  9. Mockingbirds
  10. Nuthatches
  11. Titmice
  12. Towhees
  13. Woodpeckers

• Peanuts In The shell

  I feed these for one reason and one reason only--to control Blue Jays. They absolutely love these and if you offer them in a Jay Feeder you are in for a real treat. Plus, they'll ignore everything else you put out at your feeder station.

  What else will eat them? Squirrels of course. And woodpeckers. And titmice. I have also witnessed cardinals take a stab at them in real cold weather.

• Safflower

  

  Serve this bird seed up and you'll run off birds like Grackles, Starlings, Brown-headed Cowbirds and Red-winged Black birds. Nine times out of ten, you'll run off squirrels too. But there's always that one that'll eat it. If he does, try lacing the seed with cyan pepper or something else really hot. Mammals tend to dislike hot stuff while birds ignore it.

  Whether or not a squirrel eats the safflower seems to be a function of how much other food is available, though I can say with certainty that's why one in ten will eat it.

  As for the pest birds, be patient. For about a week, they'll stick your head in your feeder looking for that steak you use to put out (black oil, blends etc). He may even kick much of your safflower to the ground. No worries, he'll giveup after 5 - 7 days.

  Cardinals consider safflower steak; they'll tear into it. Most the others will have to adjust which takes 5 - 7 days.Total transition time?

  10 - 14 days.

  Be patient. Safflower is a GREAT control mechanism. Place in a hopper for Grosbeaks and Cardinals to get at it with ease.

• Suet

  I'm often asked if suet can be fed year round. ABSOLUTELY! Ounce for ounce, there's a lot more nutrition in suet that there is in seed, and birds seem to know it! Feed it year round.

  What is suet?

  It's the fat that forms on the kidney of a cow. You can get it from a butcher if you like. It'll melt in the summer, though and is a bit of a hassle to deal with. Commercially available suet cakes are pretty darn cheap and it's easy to find no melt blends.

  Click here for a discussion on how to feed suet.

• Thistle (also called nyjer)

  This bird seed is an imported seed that is heated to kill the germinating properties. Don't worry--you will not get thistle growing beneath your feeder.

  What birds eat this bird seed?

  Gold Finches, House Finches, Sparrows, Redpolls, and Purple Finches. I've seen Carolina chickadees take a stab at it, too! Click here for a discussion on how best to offer thistle.