Feeding the Birds – Choose the Best Bird Food

There is a huge variety of bird food available. It can be hard to decide which to choose. This should help you select the right type of food for the birds you want to attract. Keep in mind your feeder style too.

Black-oil sunflower seed attracts the greatest variety of birds. It is small and thin-shelled and this makes it easy for small birds to handle and crack. Striped sunflower seeds are bigger with thicker seed coats.

Although sunflower seeds are the all-round favorite some birds prefer different foods.

Blackbirds like corn and doves like white millet or red milo. Doves are ground-feeders, though…so keep in mind that they need their food on the ground.

Watch the commercial seed mixes you may be tempted to buy, though. They are usually a blend of sunflower seeds and other less appealing “filler” such as millet, oats, wheat, flax, buckwheat seeds, and red milo.

These mixes may seem to be a bargain, but a lot may end up being wasted because the birds pick out the sunflower seeds and leave the rest. You may try making your own birdseed mix instead. Put about 25 pounds of black-oil sunflower seed, 10-pounds of white millet, and 10 pounds of cracked corn into a clean trash can. Stir with a broom handle and you’re good to go!

Remember to store your bird food carefully. If you buy a lot of seed it needs to be kept in a dry, cool place…safe from rodents. Check often for mold and throw out any seed that is questionable.

Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches: Sunflower, Safflower, Suet
Finches: Sunflower, Safflower, Millet, Niger
Cardinals, Grosbeaks: Sunflower, Safflower
Sparrows, Blackbirds: Sunflower, Corn, Millet
Jays: Sunflower, Corn, Milo, Suet
Woodpeckers: Sunflower, Suet
Orioles, Tanagers: Suet
Pigeons, Doves: Corn, Millet, Milo
Indigo Buntings: Sunflower, Millet, Niger