Wild Bird Seed for Our Backyard Birds

Wild bird seed placed in our backyard bird feeders encourages many visits from the different species of bird. Wild bird seed comes in several different forms for attracting new species of wild birds to our backyards. Bird watching has now become a very popular hobby for many homeowners. Using a number of wild bird feeders with different bird feed will attract several varieties of bird to the backyard.

The type of wild bird seed you use depends on what birds you want visiting your wild bird feeders. In some cases people think that putting out any kind of bird seed will attract many birds, but sometimes you may end up with some birds you really do not want. It is better to know what bird seeds are easier for some birds to eat. Backyard bird watching can be a lot of fun so it is best not to overfill the bird feeders as wasted seed will fall to the ground and sometimes attract unwanted predators. The following is a small breakdown of the different types of seed and the backyard birds that enjoy them.

Black-oil Sunflower Seeds
The black-oil sunflower seed is probably the number one bird seed for wild birds. Black-oil sunflower seeds provide a high quality of protein due to the high amount of meat in the seeds. The outer shell is soft which makes it easier for the smaller backyard birds. These birds include: chickadees, finches, goldfinches, and nuthatches. It also has a high application of oil which helps these wild birds keep dry and warm in the winter.

Striped Sunflower Seeds
Striped sunflower seeds are cheaper than black-oil sunflower seeds, but they are not as popular a seed. It has a tougher shell for the backyard birds to crack which makes it hard to eat, especially if they are small birds. Wild birds that are known to eat this wild bird seed include blue jays, cardinals, and sometimes woodpeckers.

Cracked Corn
Cracked corn bird seed is used to attract some of the larger varieties of bird species such as eastern bluebirds, jays, pheasants, and game birds. The area I live, in Southern California, has quite a number of small wild birds and the cracked corn wild bird seed is not favored by them, in fact they will eat everything else except that. If you use cracked corn all year it will attract some of the other birds that do not come to your other bird feeders.

Millet
Millet, which is a large part of many bird seed mixes, is a tiny pin head sized round seed. White proso millet is a light color and is the most well liked by many wild birds. Some of the backyard birds that prefer millet are: bobwhites, buntings, cardinals, doves, juncos, quail, and sparrows. This bird seed can be used in various types of feeders, including hopper feeders, tubular feeders, and tray feeders.

Thistle Seeds
Thistle seeds are a very tiny black seed. It does not come from the thistle plant that we see by the roadway but is imported from India and Ethiopia and is usually referred to as "Nyjer" seed. These seeds are so small that they are best used in tube feeders or any feeder with wire mesh. The types of backyard birds that enjoy thistle seed are the goldfinch, house finch, purple finch, pine siskin, and redpoll.  

Safflower Seeds
Safflower seeds are large seeds that have a white coating. These seeds are very often used in place of black-oil sunflower seeds for those who do not want to attract grackles, starlings, or house sparrows; these birds do not seem to like it. This seed also attracts many of the same birds as black-oil sunflower seeds plus the titmouse, grosbeak, jay and cardinal.

Nuts
The nuts used are usually peanuts and peanut hearts that are sometimes sold separately but are most often found in wild bird seed mixes. The birds that enjoy this type of bird feed are cardinals, chickadees, goldfinches, grosbeaks, house finches, jays, mockingbirds, nuthatches, titmice, and woodpeckers.

Wild Bird Seed Mixes
The premium wild bird seed mixes are packaged mixtures of seed that will attract a variety of wild birds. They are usually made up of black-oil sunflower seeds, millet, striped sunflower seeds and one or two other seeds mixed together. Some bird seed mixes are available in most grocery stores but the wild bird seed suppliers are usually found at pet centers or wild bird centers.

My backyard bird watching usually occurs in the morning after seven thirty. We have two wild bird feeders, one is a small bird bath that did not circulate water, that we converted that sits on top of an old tree stump; the other is a covered bridge bird feeder that sits under the trees. I know there are many bird baths on the market but ours is our fountain that these wild birds, including hummingbirds, enjoy every morning. All these little critters enjoy their daily treat of wild bird seed.