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peanuts or sunflowers seeds (1 Viewer)

peanuts or sunflower seeds

  • peanuts

    Votes: 88 14.9%

  • sunflower seeds

    Votes: 502 85.2%
  • Total voters
    589
Sunflower hearts win the day, always snaffled very quickly by most birds. There are 'peanut periods', just now they are popular, but funnily enough not many are eaten in winter. Crushed peanuts go down well, and in winter I add crushed and ground peanuts to lard for fat cakes and these are popular.
 
I still persevere with the peanuts, if only for the G-S Woodpeckers and any Siskins in the winter... other than that it's huskfree seed mix in the feeders, sunflower based table mix and Nijer for the Goldfinches (and a prayer that a Redpoll will take a fancy to them)
 
How times change. Once the birds that came to my feeders were happy with peanuts. Now they are largely ignored and black sunflowers or hulled (separate feeder) are preferred. Nyjers are favoured by bullfinches, goldfinches, siskins and redpolls (occasional winter/spring visitors). I try to keep a small amount of fresh peanuts in a feeder for visiting woodpeckers and nuthatches although the latter are very happy here with black sunflowers. The fallen sunflower seed is hoovered up by finches, blackbirds and robins with the tits liking the sunflowers but occasionally taking peanuts.
 
I am new to this. Actually I am on my very first bag of birdseed. I bought a nut and berry mix. It seems in the 2 times I have refilled the feeder now, I have noticed in the tray below what they have discarded is the fruit and the peanuts. It seems they are only eating the sunflower seeds...Do they not like the rest???
 
Peanuts are only toyed with seemingly as a token gesture but still worth keeping out

Mixed seed goes quickest with sunflower seed not far behind.

Oats/fruit mix is also very popular.

Nyger seed goes too and fat balls are always popular.
 
Sunflower seeds. I got fed up of the black ones as the husks were constantly getting in the house, my shoes the bed everywhere! So for the sake of sanity I buy sunflower hearts now.

Goldfinches will go between niger seed and sunflower seed and I keep some peanuts out in the winter for the woodpecker and for emergency purposes when they've got through all the sunflower seeds before I manage to re-fill.

I can buy sunflower hearts at £20 for 20kg at the seed merchants (which doesn't last very long) but I am aware that they are from the States so the food miles on them is apalling and also I bet they are GM.

I think I'm going to have to see if I can source UK ones. Any ideas?
 
Sunflower hearts only here. Currently about 1Kg a day. In feeders and on the ground. Lots of birds though. Whenever I go between the house and workshop I am expected to throw them a fresh handful.
 
Sunflower hearts wins hands down in tubes and on the table. White Millet is also popular amongst smaller birds. Adult Goldfinches prefer nyjer whilst their juveniles prefer the SF hearts. Peanuts attract a few Starlings occassionally, the hedgehog loves them.

I still scatter a cheap Johnson and Jeff mix on my shed roof, which doves, pigeons, starlings, sparrows and chaffinches devour . There's little wheat or corn and no grass seeds in it. I add cheap sultanas and raisins.

Good experimental research findings on the relative attractiveness of seeds here:

http://www.wildbirdcenter.com/content/geis
 
The birds in my garden eat sunflower hearts, mixed seeds and fat balls with equal enthusiasm but, generally dont touch the peanuts until they have scoffed everything else.
 
Sunflower seeds get eaten the fastest in my garden because so many different birds like them. The peanuts are very popular with the blue tits, sparrows and starlings but they always last longer between refills than the seeds.
 
seb_seb said:
which goes quicker/is most popular with birds in your garden?
Click to expand...

After three years of daily feeding, there is no doubt in my mind that sunflower seeds are tops! Eaten by almost all the birds, and by the grey squirrels, foxes and badgers too. Even the cats appear to be getting a taste for them?!

I have just looked at the Poll so far, and it seems the end result might be resoundingly in favour of SF seeds.
 
Wrll last weekend I got a twin feeder were you put peanuts on one side & seeds the other it's been a week now and the birds have just been feeding on the peanuts side ignoring the seeds.
 
Euan Buchan said:
Wrll last weekend I got a twin feeder were you put peanuts on one side & seeds the other it's been a week now and the birds have just been feeding on the peanuts side ignoring the seeds.
Click to expand...

Were they sunflower hearts or seeds or something else? Their favourites are the hearts. Hang in there, it might depend which birds you are getting.
 
Sunflower seeds win out

Most of our birds greatly prefer sunflower seeds to peanuts. However, the latter are a hit with our Blue Jays and get some attention from the Tufted Titmice and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

We recently stopped putting out peanuts because the mesh tube got absolutely smothered in leaf-footed bugs. But now that fall is here, I may try the peanuts again.
 
Ive noticed the blue tits like the peanuts but that's probably because the greenfinches are hogging all the seed feeders! Leftover manky peanuts get fed to the squirrels (well its a tough job but someones got to do it) and the greenfinches discard some of the feed mix which provides ground food for the collar doves and a great selection of weed growth in the patio!
 
Sunflowers mixed with safflowers are in my feeders. I have 2 suet feeders also. I put 2 finch feeders out also. I have heard that cardinals will take the safflowers over the sunflowers. I don't know if it is true, but I try to give all of them their choice
www.wrmn.net
 
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