I can't say my wife and I are amateurs at feeding the birds; we've been doing so for over 20 years. We have learned that one way to attract more birds of a larger variety is to think beyond the feeders and landscape the yard with birds in mind. We are fortunate to have a natural water source nearby so the most important consideration is cover in the form of vegetation. Attracting unnatural numbers of birds to a feeding system can also bring in predators of several types. Cats, in a suburban setting, and accipiters, in our yard, are what come to my mind. If you watch where the birds go when they get startled, you will get an idea of what to bring closer to the feeding area.
In the photo I've attached is adjacent to our feeding area. You can see the "jungle" of vegetation that we have allowed to grow or have planted ourselves. The mountain laurel in the upper right is a favorite place for many birds so I've planted another and a rhododendron, just behind the small brushpile that leans against the retaining wall in the lower right. At some point, when the new shrubs grow larger, the manmade brushpile will no longer be necessary as cover. The balance of the area includes a native honeysuckle shrub, which is also a favorite hiding place, pokeweed, goldenrod, bee balm, bayberry shrubs, blueberries, deer tongue grass (a favorite with sparrows), winterberries and so on. We had sumac, which attracts birds later in the season when other food is becoming scarce, but it died out during this past summers drought. Not shown is a large dogwood tree, densely branched and a good spot for birds to perch before coming to our feeder system. Our backyard is messy to look at, no doubt, and may not be acceptable in some more controlling subdivisions.
Our bird food consists of a platform feeder with BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds), a Yankee Dome feeder with the same seed, a 16" log with 1 1/4" drilled holes to plug with a peanut butter and conrmeal mix, and seed we put at ground level or on our small deck surface. That seed is usually a mixture of white millet, BOSS and peanut pieces.
We don't feed the birds in the summer when natural food is more available. They do a good job of controlling insect populations (good and bad, of course) and after, 6 months of daily feeding, cleaning feeders (don't forget to clean your feeders regularly) and mixing pb suet, I am ready to turn the job over to nature.
I still see some of the feeder birds throughout the summer. They don't seem to ever lose their appetite for a sunflower seed.
Steve
in W. North Carolina