Putting out food for wild birds is a great way to bring wildlife to your lawn or garden. Not all types of feed attract the same kinds of birds, but seeds are definitely a favorite of songbirds. Having songbirds fills your backyard with chirping sounds that bring a deep sense of serenity, while also allowing you to do a good thing by feeding wild birds.
The following list of the best wild bird seeds in 2021 has been picked by our team because they offer an extremely healthy mix of ingredients that are very energizing for birds, attract some of the rarest types of songbirds, are easy to use with traditional feeders, and contain no filler content.
A mixture of bird seeds that are specifically formulated for wild species. The seed provides an array of nutrition for wild birds.
The large five-litre container provides a longer-lasting supply. Various seeds are included in the mixture, which adds a greater diversity of nutrients for birds. The seed mix is appropriate for birds of all sizes. The large container gives you an easy storage solution for the seeds.
A selection of top-quality seeds is included in this mix. The formula is made to attract specific breeds of birds.
With a 20 kilogram supply of the seed mixture, you can continue feeding wild birds for a longer duration before a refill is needed. The formula was created to attract Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Siskin, Sparrows, and several other bird species. In addition to seeds, the formula also contains peanuts.
The focus on being more natural provides a safer feed for wild birds. The formula was developed without any wheat as a filler.
A seed selection was chosen based on its ability to reduce messes around the bird feeder. The seed mix is ideal for all types of wild birds. There are three bag sizes available, including one kilogram, five-litre, and a bulk 12.75-kilogram pack. The mixtures focus on providing quality nutrition for wild species.
The combination of seeds in this mix provides a wild bird all of the nutrients they need for survival. The seeds are ideal for all stages of life.
There are 12 different seeds blended into this mixture. In addition to seeds, the mixture also contains nuts that provide protein and healthy fats for wild birds. The mixture comes in a two kilogram bag. A larger bag is also available, which provides 12.75 kilograms of the seed mixture. The vitamin enriched formula offers more nutrients for feeding birds.
A multipurpose formula that is great for a wider variety of bird species. The formula comes in two and five-kilogram bags.
The wide variety of ingredients added creates a more complete source of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. The seed mixture also comes with suet pellets, as well as mealworms. There are no filler ingredients, which makes the product a healthier choice for wild bird species.
If one of your favorite things is to watch and listen to wild birds flutter and sing in your backyard, then you definitely want to attract as many different types of birds as you want. Many things attract wild birds to a place, like a water basin and feeders with delicious bird food – which we will refer to as wild bird seeds in this guide.
However, you can’t waltz into a supermarket and buy just any wild bird seeds you find on the stand. There are many varieties and brands of wild bird seeds, and not all birds eat any type of seeds. Hence you must choose a particular variety of seeds for wild birds that can attract some of the rarest types of birds to your garden.
Choosing the best wild bird seeds depends on so many factors, which can be quite confusing, but luckily, this wild bird seed buying guide will give you a thorough insight into these factors.
Here’s a list of the most common wild bird seeds.
Sunflower seeds are arguably the most popular wild bird seeds and for good reason. Many bird species love them, they are relatively cheap, and are quite easy to find. Sunflower seeds come in three varieties, each unique in its own way.
Black Oil sunflower seeds are the most popular sunflower seeds. They have a high oil content that appeals to the taste buds of many bird species and are less expensive than the alternative: striped sunflower seed. The shells of black oil seeds are relatively thinner and smaller, which makes them easy to crack open. Because of their relatively small sizes, a bag of black oil seeds will contain more seeds than a bag of striped sunflower seeds of the same size.
The species of birds that love black oil sunflower seeds include Titmice, Chickadees, Jays, House and Purple Finches, Sparrows, Woodpeckers, Buntings, Cardinals, Nuthatches, Grosbeaks, and Pine siskins.
Striped sunflower seeds are larger, more expensive, have thicker shells, and are less common than black oil sunflower seeds. This variety of sunflower seeds appeals to larger birds since they have strong beaks to crack open the strong shells.
They are the least favorite sunflower seeds among bird species. If you make a feed mix of black oil and striped sunflower seeds, the birds will eat the striped ones last because they prefer the ease of consuming black oil seeds.
The species of birds that love striped sunflower seeds include Cardinals, Nutcrackers, Grosbeaks, Jays, Nuthatches, Titmice, Grackles, and Woodpeckers.
Safflower seeds are large oval seeds with thick shells. If you often encounter interference by squirrels and blackbirds while bird feeding, well here’s some good news. Safflower seeds do not appeal to blackbirds and squirrels, most likely because of how they taste.
Jays, House Finches, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, and Cardinals all love safflower seeds.
Also known as thistle or nyjer seeds, this variety of wild bird seeds is highly preferred by Finches. This is most likely because of their incredibly small sizes and thin shells. These seeds are rich in oil, and this makes them a good choice for winter bird feeding.
Nyjer seeds typically come sterilized to prevent them from sprouting, essentially preserving their edibility.
Feeding birds with Nyjer, however, has its disadvantages. Due to their small size, Nyjer seeds are easily blown away by the wind. They are also highly vulnerable to spoilage.
Chickadees, Doves, House Finches, Pine siskins, Goldfinches, and Purple Finches are attracted by Nyjer seeds.
Commonly known as Millet, this seed is one of the favorites of ground-feeding birds. It often comes as part of birdseed mixes, but it can be bought separately too.
One downside of feeding birds with white proso millet is that it may attract undesired birds like blackbirds and house sparrows, so it is not a good choice if these bird species are in the area.
Birds that love white proso millet include Towhees, sparrows, doves, blackbirds, and grackles.
Shelled corn, also known as whole kernel corn is a great seed choice for wild birds. However, only large birds like crows, grackles, ravens, ducks, and wild turkeys can crack it open and eat it.
Cracked corn on the other hand is basically shelled corn that has been sliced and diced into pieces. It is quite inexpensive, just like shelled corn, and it can be eaten by several birds including juncos, starlings, cowbirds, jays, magpies, quail, doves, sparrows, cowbirds, and towhees.
Corn seeds have their disadvantages. Corn is susceptible to contamination by aflatoxins, which are toxic to both humans and birds and can be fatal in some cases. To protect your corn from aflatoxin, never allow it to get moist, and don’t buy corn in plastic bags. Offer corn in fairly small amounts that can be consumed at once by the birds, especially in humid weather conditions.
Another downside of corn is that it attracts invasive animals like deers, raccoons, bears, geese, starlings, cowbirds, and house sparrows.
Peanuts are healthy options for your feathered friends. They contain high nutritional amounts of fat and protein which are great for birds during the winter season.
There are two forms of peanuts for bird feeding - shelled and unshelled.
Unshelled peanuts are peanuts that are still in the shell and many times only bigger birds like jays, grackles, magpies, some woodpeckers, and crows can eat it.
Shelled peanuts on the other hand are rid of the thick shell and, for this reason, they can be eaten by just about every bird, like cowbirds, ravens, titmice, chickadees, nutcrackers crows, jays, cowbirds, grackles, and magpies.
A: Bird seeds may go bad due to poor storage, extreme weather conditions, and insect infestation. To ensure that you don’t feed your birdies with bad bird seeds, you must check for signs of spoilage.
A: Storing your bird seeds the right way will protect the health of the birds you feed and save you the costs of buying new seeds all the time. Here are some tips on how to store your wild bird seeds properly:
A: Birds are not food wasters. There are a couple of reasons why birds throw their seeds out of a feeder.
