The kind of bird seed banquet you offer the birds that come to your backyard in the winter determines what kinds of birds you get. As a general rule, black oil sunflower seeds are the preference of birds that visit tube and platform feeders.


The following are the most common kinds of seeds used in feeders:

Black oil sunflower seed:
These seeds are rich in oil, and their small size makes them easier for small birds such as chickadees to 7 eat. They are readily devoured by most seedeating birds that visit feeders.
Striped sunflower seed: This is a nutritionally rich seed for birds with heavy bills such as the cardinal and evening grosbeak.

Hulled sunflower seed: This seed is attractive to smaller birds and avoids waste because of the discarded hulls. However, these seeds can rot in wet weather.

Birdseed mix: There are many birdseed mixes available. They include sunflower seeds and other grains such as milo, rice, oats, corn, and wheat. Starlings, often a nuisance at your feeder, prefer milo, hulled oats, and corn, so you may not want to use them.

White proso millet: Red and white millet are available, but birds often prefer the white kind. Because of its hard seed coat, millet is less likely to swell and rot than other birdseeds.

Safflower seed: This is best known as seed for cardinals. It has one advantage in that gray squirrels, often a nuisance at feeders, usually don’t eat it.

Shelled peanuts: Shelled peanuts attract birds. Since starlings especially like them, so the peanuts may attract starlings to your feeder.

Fresh and dried corn: Cracked corn attracts ground-feeding birds and ducks, but it rots quickly if it gets wet. It attracts squirrels, pigeons, blackbirds, and house sparrows.

Thistle or niger seed: This seed from Africa is a favorite of small finches. The small seeds are often placed in a tube feeder to prevent spillage. These seeds are high in protein. They are not related to the familiar weed known as thistle.

Suet cakes: Suet and suet cakes are favorite winter treats that provide an important source of fat for winter birds. Suet is hard beef fat – the best is from beef kidneys. You can purchase this at your meat market, then cut it into small chunks, melt it in a heavy pan over low heat, and pour the rendered suet into a small mold and put it in your refrigerator to harden. The cooking or rendering kills bacteria in the suet, which can then hang in your suet feeders. In cold weather, and if there is no danger of fresh suet becoming rancid, you can hang it out without rendering. Birds will devour it.

Cleanliness — To reduce the possibility of spreading avian disease, you should keep the feeders clean and always dispose of moldy food.

• Clean feeders with soap and water before you set them out.
• Clean feeders when they become wet and seeds stick to them.
• Clean any feeder when you suspect the food has spoiled.

If you notice sick birds around your feeders, discontinue feeding for a few days.
Piles of discarded husks under the feeders may attract small mammals such as mice and rats. Keep areas around feeders clean.