Bird Basics: Wild Bird Seed Mixes

Bird seed attracts birds to your property.

A well-stocked bird feeder is one of the best ways to attract birds to your property, according to Oregon State University. Many types of wild birdseed mixes are readily available from home and garden stores. However, not all mixes are the same. Wild birdseed mixes vary greatly in the quality and ratio of the ingredients. Cornell University recommends choosing a wild birdseed mix that is composed of high-quality ingredients or making your own mix for best results.

Birdseed Mixes

Many ready-made birdseed mixes contain low-quality ingredients that are unattractive to most birds. Cheap mixes often contain filler material such as wheat, peanut hearts, hulled oats and rice that few birds will eat, according to the University of Wisconsin. Visiting birds often pluck out these filler materials and discard them on the ground under the bird feeder or they are left in the feeder uneaten. Uneaten materials left in the feeder can begin to rot and harbor bacteria and fungi that can harm wild birds visiting your feeder, according to Cornell University. Avoid using wild birdseed mixes containing filler material.

Black-Oil Sunflower Seeds

Black-oil sunflower seeds are the most popular food for attracting wild birds, according to Penn State University. The small size and thin shell of black-oil sunflower seeds are easy to crack and contain seeds with protein and other nutrients, making it an easy and healthy meal for many types of birds. Species that readily feed on black-oil sunflower seeds include cardinals, all types of finches, chickadees and sparrows.

Striped Sunflower Seeds

Striped sunflower seeds are larger and have thicker shells than black-oil sunflower seeds. The larger shell is more difficult for birds to crack open. However, several large-billed birds such as evening grosbeak, chickadees and cardinals will gladly feed on seed mixes that contain some striped sunflower seeds.

Safflower

Safflower is a favorite seed of many large birds. Safflower has a thick shell that is difficult for smaller birds to crack open, but large species like cardinals and doves will readily feed on mixes containing nutritious safflower seeds. Sometimes sparrows will also eat safflower seeds. In addition, bird feeder pests such as squirrels and starlings do not like to feed on safflower seeds, according to Cornell University.

Millet

White millet is a small, white grain that is popular for ground-feeding birds. When spread out by hand below bird feeders, white millet attracts ground-feeding birds such as doves, native sparrows and cardinals. White millet is not the best choice for seed mixes intended for hanging bird feeders.

References

• Oregon State University; Feed Wild Birds; E. Henning and N. Allen; May 2003
• Cornell University; Choosing Bird Seed
• University of Wisconsin; Bird Feeding -- Tips for Beginners and Veterans; Scott Craven et al.; 2007
• Penn State University; Winter Bird Feeding: The Basics; Heather Beck and Margaret C. Brittingham; 2009
• Virginia Cooperative Extension; Feeding Wild Birds; Peter T. Bromley and Aelred D. Geis; May 1, 2009