What birdseed is best? (1 Viewer)

rseymour · May 29, 2006

QUOTE
Filling your tube feeder with mixed seed. - If you do this, all the seed will run out onto the ground, making the sparrows, pigeons, and blackbirds very happy. Solution: Use sunflower seed instead.

QUOTE
Believing that no thistle seed means no goldfinches - Sure, goldfinches, siskins, and other finches love thistle (or niger) seed. But it's an expensive seed to offer exclusively. Solution: All these species will come readily to feeders that stock only black-oil sunflower seed. Augment this with thistle if you wish.

I found this information on the Web. Is it true that I only need sunflower seed? I currently use "Pennington Wild Bird Feed" and "Golden Wing - Thistle Seed". |:||

Katy Penland · May 29, 2006

Sunflower, whether hulled or whole, is probably the best all-around seed for the largest number of species. It's very rich in oil that is so good for all birds. I offer both since the smaller finches (gold, lesser golds and siskins) don't like to mess with the hulls. (But I also have a thistle feeder and one for tiny "finch food" seeds for these smaller finch-type birds.)

I personally don't care for the "Wild Bird Feed" because it has too much milo in it that most of the songbirds simply ignore or throw out of the feeders -- but which attract doves by the squadron. (Milo is the large, red, round seed in the mix, is cheap and used to bulk up the mix but is very low in fat compared to sunflower, therefore less nutritious.)

Every birder has a different feeding scheme, but I keep four feeders with different things in them so that different species can feed in peace -- at least for a short time, like until a woodpecker swoops in to see what's on offer.

I also scatter a little on the ground for the larger species that can't or don't want to perch on the feeders (band-tailed pigeons, various dove species, even Brewer's Blackbirds and jays).

Safflower seed is also a good one to offer. It's a smaller but hard, white-shelled seed that sparrows, finches, grosbeaks, nuthatches and chickadees, even jays, really like. But squirrels don't (I understand it's quite bitter).

Seeds I use in feeders or on the ground: Whole and shelled sunflower seed, safflower seed, thistle, shelled peanuts (roasted, unsalted) and "gourmet finch food." I also occasionally buy a 14-pound bag of the "Wild Songbird Mix" that has the larger striped whole sunflower seed in it, as well as safflower and bits of dried fruit. The jays, larger finches and grosbeaks love this mix, as do our two tree (Abert's) squirrels and two Cliff Chipmunks.

And away from the feeder area, I scatter a few handsful of whole roasted, unsalted peanuts for the woodpeckers and jays. "Away from the feeder area" so that when these larger birds come flapping in, everybody else doesn't scatter.

And on one tree, I smear a little chunky peanut butter into a bark crease, and hang a suet box -- "summer suet" now that the weather's turned warm (a commercial block held together with gelatin so it doesn't melt/turn rancid) and a "winter suet" that I make myself from melted beef fat and a mixture of various seeds.

Probably more than you wanted to know but that's what I do here in my rural yard in northeast Arizona. :t:

rseymour · May 29, 2006

Thanks for taking your time to post all that information. I've got a lot to learn. I'll print that out. I checked the bag and it has all the cheap (unhealthy) stuff. I also noticed most was on the ground. I assumed the birds were just sloppy. I'll get out and get the sunflower seed. |=)|

This will also make good cartoon material .............

Katy Penland said:
Sunflower, whether hulled or whole, is probably the best all-around seed for the largest number of species. It's very rich in oil that is so good for all birds. I offer both since the smaller finches (gold, lesser golds and siskins) don't like to mess with the hulls. (But I also have a thistle feeder and one for tiny "finch food" seeds for these smaller finch-type birds.)

I personally don't care for the "Wild Bird Feed" because it has too much milo in it that most of the songbirds simply ignore or throw out of the feeders -- but which attract doves by the squadron. (Milo is the large, red, round seed in the mix, is cheap and used to bulk up the mix but is very low in fat compared to sunflower, therefore less nutritious.)

Every birder has a different feeding scheme, but I keep four feeders with different things in them so that different species can feed in peace -- at least for a short time, like until a woodpecker swoops in to see what's on offer. I also scatter a little on the ground for the larger species that can't or don't want to perch on the feeders (band-tailed pigeons, various dove species, even Brewer's Blackbirds and jays).

Safflower seed is also a good one to offer. It's a smaller but hard, white-shelled seed that sparrows, finches, grosbeaks, nuthatches and chickadees, even jays, really like. But squirrels don't (I understand it's quite bitter).

Seeds I use in feeders or on the ground: Whole and shelled sunflower seed, safflower seed, thistle, shelled peanuts (roasted, unsalted) and "gourmet finch food." I also occasionally buy a 14-pound bag of the "Wild Songbird Mix" that has the larger striped whole sunflower seed in it, as well as safflower and bits of dried fruit. The jays, larger finches and grosbeaks love this mix, as do our two tree (Abert's) squirrels and two Cliff Chipmunks.

And away from the feeder area, I scatter a few handsful of whole roasted, unsalted peanuts for the woodpeckers and jays. "Away from the feeder area" so that when these larger birds come flapping in, everybody else doesn't scatter.

And on one tree, I smear a little chunky peanut butter into a bark crease, and hang a suet box -- "summer suet" now that the weather's turned warm (a commercial block held together with gelatin so it doesn't melt/turn rancid) and a "winter suet" that I make myself from melted beef fat and a mixture of various seeds.

Probably more than you wanted to know but that's what I do here in my rural yard in northeast Arizona. :t:

Curtis Croulet · May 29, 2006

In addition to "thistle" and black-oil sunflower, I use cracked corn, scattered on the ground, for White-crowned Sparrows. The occasional (during appropriate season) Fox Sparrows and Lincoln's Sparrows also like cracked corn. Some of it winds up in the birdbath, and Song Sparrows like to get the wet bits of cracked corn off the bottom of the dish. I rarely have birds that are major suet eaters, so I don't put out suet. Plus, some creature I've never seen does like suet and eats it at night. I've had suet feeders (the mesh box itself) disappear. I've always thought it was opossums (which we have), but I don't really know. So I gave up on suet. But back when I put it out, the White-crowns would sometimes eat it.

adw73uk · May 30, 2006

I've found that sun flower hearts seem the best all round seed. I provide it in a feeder and on a table. The feeder is over a patio so birds can make the most of any spill. This is the only seed I put out now.

craig whitmore · May 30, 2006

I've had suet feeders (the mesh box itself) disappear. I've always thought it was opossums (which we have), but I don't really know. So I gave up on suet. But back when I put it out, the White-crowns would sometimes eat it.

Chris: Do you think it could have been racoons? I lost a couple of cages to them and now have rigged a suspension the can't get to. Thats interesting re the white crowns. I'm having a bh grosbeak at the suet feeder for the first time. Thought that he was just picking out the seeds.

Craig

craig whitmore · May 30, 2006

Posted by Katy Penland: And on one tree, I smear a little chunky peanut butter into a bark crease, and hang a suet box -- "summer suet" now that the weather's turned warm (a commercial block held together with gelatin so it doesn't melt/turn rancid) and a "winter suet" that I make myself from melted beef fat and a mixture of various seeds.

Katy: Do you know how they get the gelatin into the mix? I've been trying to make a "summer suet". Reasoned that if I could raise the molecular weight of the fat mix I could raise the melting point of my concotion (rendered fat, chunky peanut butter, corn meal, rolled oats, black oil sunflower) Soooooo I added a little paraffin to the melted rendering. Raised the melting point, Right----Wrong, lowered the melting point. Back to the drawing board.
Craig

jimbofoxman · May 30, 2006

I work at a store that sells a lot of different bird feed. I could never understand why people choose the ones that have all the millet and milo in them. I guess a better question is why do we even carry it? Probably the same reason we carry 7 different suet flavors.........to give the customers options. I don't think the birds care what flavor suet they have.........maybe except the peanut variety.

Katy Penland · May 30, 2006

craig whitmore said:
Katy: Do you know how they get the gelatin into the mix? I've been trying to make a "summer suet". Reasoned that if I could raise the molecular weight of the fat mix I could raise the melting point of my concotion (rendered fat, chunky peanut butter, corn meal, rolled oats, black oil sunflower) Soooooo I added a little paraffin to the melted rendering. Raised the melting point, Right----Wrong, lowered the melting point. Back to the drawing board.
Craig

Don't know if paraffin (wax) is a good thing for birds to eat -- never have seen it used in recipes.

But to answer your question, nope, don't have a clue about the gelatin. Wonder if you couldn't just get a packet/box of Knox's Unflavored Gelatin (that obnoxious stuff we ladies were told yonks ago would help our fingernails grow -- yeah, right) and just not use as much liquid so it'll set harder to keep seeds together. Then the only thing that would make the suet lose its shape is if it got wet and dissolved the gelatin. Gelatin is a beef product, so it will have some food value, but at least it won't go off as quickly as any kind of fat will in warm/hot weather.

If you try the gelatin, let us know how you do, okay? :t:

pattiwhite · May 30, 2006

you can make seed bells with egg whites. suet cakes here are 99 cents so i feel thats cheap enough to buy..lol
patti

Katy Penland · May 30, 2006

Oh, interesting idea about the egg whites, Patti. Had forgotten what a good natural glue they are. :t:

A comment about using cracked corn. Corn can be a vector for carrying salmonella, as we found out here in AZ a couple years ago when Pine Siskins were dying by the hundreds and tox screens revealed what the culprit was. Even before this, though, I'd already stopped using cracked corn and "scratch" mixes that contain it because it usually ended up attracting only the larger flocking birds (pigeons, doves, pinyon jays) and squirrels. The rest of the songbirds wouldn't touch it (and I get maybe 1 House Sparrow and 2-3 White-crowneds a year in the yard, both of which were happy to munch on sunflower hearts instead).

rseymour · Jun 2, 2006

Thanks for the great info. I'll look into them. Funny, you mention night visitors. The ground (forager) cam is infra-red to catch any night visitors. So far, only bugs ..... |

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But, I've heard the hummer feeder attracts bats..... soooooo... maybe next year I'll install an IR cam there..... |=)|

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