Bird Seed
If you’re planning on adding a birdfeeder to your garden to attract some feathered company, you’ll have to consider both the design of the feeder and the type of seed with which you’re going to fill the birdfeeder. Very often, your choice of bird feeder design will depend on the type of bird seed you’re planning to use.
There is a huge selection of bird seeds and mixtures available. Most experts, however, agree that a good mixture that works for most bird species is black-oil sunflower seed. This wild bird seed has a high meat-to-shell ratio, it’s high in fat, and small birds find it easy to deal with, given its thin shell and small size. This seed will attract cardinals, chickadees, finches and sparrows; woodpeckers have also been known to eat these seeds as well. Striped sunflower seeds, on the other hand, are a bit larger and actually have thicker coats, making them harder to crack open.
Many experienced birding enthusiasts agree that it’s a good idea to start with sunflower seed and then use a trial-and-error process to figure out what birds in your area find most appealing. To get a heads up on the game, do some research to find the birdseed and food preferences of bird species in your area. Experiments with different seeds are going to be the only real way that you can tell for sure, though, what your local bird population prefers eating.
Thistle seed, also known as nyjer, attracts the American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin and Common Redpoll; thistle seed bird feeders are very common. Safflower attracts cardinals and other birds with large bills. Cracked corn will attract doves, quail and sparrow. Millet, a small round grain, is preferred by small, ground foraging birds and is often found in seed mixes; juncos and sparrows are attracted by this grain.
Milo is also a grain found in seed mixes, especially in inexpensive ones; this grain, though, does not hold much appeal for the majority of birds, especially on the US east coast, and milo-containing mixtures often go to waste. Seed mixes in general are not a bad idea, though, and you can essentially buy or create a mixture that contains any number of seeds.
Besides using it in feeders, many bird enthusiasts have come up with interesting ways to use birdseed. For one, instead of the rice thrown normally at weddings, there are now many places that sell wedding birdseed bags full of “wedding birdseed” to be thrown. You can also share your holidays with your feathered friends by making birdseed ornaments and birdseed crafts, like a bird seed wreath. A birdseed wreath and other bird seed ornaments are fun to make and environmentally friendly. There are a variety of websites that will teach you how to make bird seed wreaths and how to make birdseed ornaments of other types; you may also purchase craft books that will explain how to make birdseed ornaments and how to make bird seed wreath decorations.
