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peanuts or sunflowers seeds (2 Viewers)

peanuts or sunflower seeds

  • peanuts

    Votes: 88 14.9%
  • sunflower seeds

    Votes: 502 85.2%

  • Total voters
    589
With us it's Sunflower kernels as every bird going seems to eat them.
We just get Tits, Siskins, Chaffinches and Starlings on the peanuts.
 
With me...sunflowers seeds as most of Devon's greenfinches come to cobble them up in super quick time!
 
I forgot about the Greenfinches - ours like both !

We use peanut granules in the wire feeders sometimes, but I suppose selfishly for us, the whole nuts keep the birds on the wire feeders for longer as they have to peck at them through the wire mesh. That way we can see them for longer. A big problem with the Tit family is that they tend to grab a whole nut or sunflower and fly off to my neighbours tree to devour the goodies - way out of sight.
 
When I put peanuts out on my fence post, they are gone in a heartbeat! I find that Blue Jays, Cardinals, Titmice, and Woodpeckers LOVE them! Of course, all of those birds like sunflower seeds, too. I use peanuts when I want a lot of action quickly. I've found that ALL birds like my homemade suet, I get all of the above mentioned birds plus sparrows of all kinds, juncos, brown thrahsers, carolina wrens, mockingbirds and goldfinch when I put it out. They also tend to stay on the post longer if someone else doesn't come along to have some goodies. Sometimes I have 2 or 3 different kinds on the post at the same time chowing down.
 
Peanuts go first and fastest around here only due to the fact that the bigger birds(jays and Maggies) get in here and do not stop til they are all dispensed!
We use Black Oil Sunflower seeds and buy it by the pallet(25 22kg bags per pallet)it goes quickly;but is dispersed differently.
I tried Safflower hearts and the birds never touched that stuff.
Cormeal suet goes very quickly here too.
 
I've tried peanuts with the shells and without the shells. They go very fast. I thought it would take them longer if I kept them in the shells, but they take the whole thing. Mostly titmouse, nut-hatch, red-bellied woodpecker, cardinals and the blue jay. All my other feeders (6 of them) I fill with a mixture, but the sunflower seeds are a great favorite.
 
Sunflower seeds are the prefered meal in our garden but they also like oatmeal mixed with seed and melted fat, they eat 3 large plates on a mild day and 4+ when we get a cold snap, they prefer it warm.

We started off only getting starlings but now have doves, sparrows, coal tis (I think, must find the bins (kids misplaced lol)and check), magpies, crows, robin, the odd pigeon and other small as yet unnamed birds who fly of just as I look out the window, doh!!!
 
I spread sunflowers seeds on the ground for Chaffinches, Sparrows, Blackbirds, Blue & Great Tits and Dunnocks and use peanuts in feeders cos they keep them there longer. Siskins, Blue Tits, Sparrows and Coal Tits use the feeders and they last longer (peanuts). I have to put more sunflowers down every morning along with maize bits and the maize is always left over for Dunnocks.
 
We only have one peanut feeder plus what goes on the ground. We have 13 seed feeders with black oil or mixed seed. I think that if we had one seed and one peanut, it could be a tie.
 
In my feeders the peanuts are mostly eaten by sparrows and starlings. Most other birds prefer the sunflower kernels.

Incidently, I have started to use the RSPB de-hulled mixed seed that includes sunflower seed. I thought that I would offer them a bit of variety but it seems that my birds reject some of the seed. They take out and drop the offending articles until the seed of there choice appears.

I have just removed the tray from the bottom of the feeder and there is a good mixture of all the types of seed present in the mix (turning to porridge in this dismal rain). I suspect, though I have no evidence as yet that different birds prefer diffent elements of the mix. The net result is a lot of seed in the tray and the birds ignore the spilled grain in favour of the food in the feeder. Why dont they take the easy option and take the food of their choice from the tray?
 
The most popular feed in my yard is a mix of black oil sunflower, striped sunflower, and safflower. Straight black oil is also popular. The main users are cardinals, titmice, chickadees, house finches, and a few nuthatch visitors. The peanut feeder gets woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice, chickadees, and sparrows. The titmice and chickadees prefer the sunflower.
The woodpeckers visit only the peanut feeder. The house sparrows use it but it takes so long for them to get anything that I am glad to have them stay there.
 
The peanuts that I put out are eaten mostly by the tufted titmice, and some by the brown-headed nuthatches and the chickadees. Sunflower seeds are eaten by almost everyone and go more quickly. The woodpeckers don't go for the peanuts much, but I think that's because I also usually have peanut-flavored suet nearby, which they are mad about.

Seb, the titmice and chickadees are closely related. The titmice are slightly larger, gray and white, with a crested head. The chickadees are smaller and rounder, with no crest, and have a black or brown "mask" on the face. Titmice have the biggest, roundest eyes you have ever seen.
 
Black Oil Sunflower seeds go extremely quickly and are enjoyed by all in my yard!! A suet with nuts is very popular with the woodpeckers too. Even the safflower seeds have takers.

Vogelman
 
Hi seb seb,
I have attached a picture of a tufted titmouse and I will post one of a black-capped chickadee next. Both are birds of the forest and come readily to feeders. I have a picture in the gallery of a titmouse sitting on my foot.
 

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thanks for the photos... the chickadee looks very similar to some of our tits. but that titmouse looks quite stunning, and those are some big eyes!
 
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