Wild Bird Seed - What's Best and Will Attract the Most Birds? (2024)

Commercial vs. Good Quality Wild Bird Seed Mixes:

Commercial seed mixes that you find in your local supermarket aren't usuallythe best for birds or your wallet.

Usually the ingredients consist of millet, sunflower seed and cracked corn.

Cheaper blends often include a larger proportion of filler seeds that birdswill ignore and toss aside.

You can actually save money with a more expensive, richer mixture since there willbe less filler waste and you will attract more birds.

Since mixes contain a lot of millet, if you remember, millet is preferredmostly by ground-feeding birds.

Therefore, if you put in in your hanging feeders, ground-feeders cannotaccess it and feeder birds will not eat it. So nobody's happy.

Make Your Own Wild Bird Seed Mix

If you want a seed mix, make your ownby blendingblack oil sunflower seed, white proso millet and cracked corn(2:1:1) or substitute the corn or millet with sunflower chips, striped sunflowerseeds, Nyjer seed(thistle), etc..

Or experiment to attract the kind of birds you would like to see at yourfeeders base on theirseed preferences.

Avoid Filler Seed

Try to make or buy seed mixes that do not have a lot of filler seed like milo and wheat which will be tossed aside by most birds and end up as weed seed inyour grass if your feeder is placed over your lawn.

Milo (aka sorghum) is a red, round, thick-coated, low-fat "filler" seed found in birdseed mixes.

Birds typically won't eat milo unless they're hungry and nothing else isavailable.

It usually will be wasted as birds pick it out of mixes to get to betteringredients. Milo may attract unwanted cowbirds, starling, grackles, squirrels,rats.

Learn about the difference betweenwhite prosomillet vs red millet vs milo.

Pest Birds or Squirrel Problem At Your Feeder?

You may want to try feeding your backyard birdssafflower seedif you have trouble with squirrels at your feeders, and/or pest birds likestarlings, grackles, which do not like safflower seeds.

Make Wild Bird Seed Blocks

You can take your wild bird seed mix and create a seed block in any shape youdesire.

The gelatin and corn syrup provides more protein and sugar calories forthe birds. The block lasts long and there is little waste compared to offeringloose seed. Plus, you can hang these up in places that your feeders aren't andattract more birds as well as possibly different species.

The video below shows how to make an easy bird seed wreath for anytime of the year.

Wild Bird Food:
What Bird Seed and Other Foods Do Birds Prefer?

When it comes to wild bird food, there are lots of choices.

Different seeds as well as feeders will attract different bird species.

The more you know about which types of seed birds prefer, thebetter you will be able to attract the number and types of birdsthat visit your feeders.

And better yet, the better you will be able to keep away nuisancebirds from your feeders such as starlings, house sparrows,blackbirds among others, unless you want them at your feeders.

Use the below wild bird food preference chart as a guideline andwatch the video for more info about bird seed.

Wild Bird Seed Preferences of Common Feeder Birds

How To Choose The Right Bird Seed For Your Bird Feeder

Below is a short videodiscussion below regarding use of wild bird seed mixes, black oil sunflowerseeds, Nyjer thistle, safflower seeds and/or suet in your bird feeders.

When purchasing wild bird seed, try to buy seed that is as fresh as possible.

Some seed distributors work directly with farmers, grower co-ops and seedprocessors to deliver the freshest and most nutritious bird seed. This isn't thecheap seed at your local discount store that been sitting in a warehouse, haslost most of its nutritional value and is full of "filler" seed that birds don'tlike and pick through. In the long run, you save because there is less waste andeven more importantly, it's better for the birds.

Follow the below links to learn about different types of bird food and the kindof birds each will attract:

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

We've got a whole page on how to make your ownhummingbird nectar, much cheaper than store-bought and better for the hummingbirds without the artificial color.

Best Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

Want to feed birds,not squirrels? This feeder is one of best squirrel proof feeders onthe market.

Best Cardinal Bird Feeder -Top picks for the best bird feeder for cardinals including platform, hopper, and tube feeders.

Remember, you do have an ethical obligation not to jeopardize wild birds with your feeders. Follow the links below in order to provide a safe feeding environment for your birds:

Precautionsagainst Disease

Precautions against Window Collisions

Precautionsagainst Cats

Bird Feeder Plans

Now that you know aboutthey types of wild bird food, learn how to build your own feeder with theseFreeBird Feeder Plans and learn which typeattracts what kind of birds.

Winter BirdFeeding- Learn about thebest bird seedfor the birds during the cold wintertimeseason.

And be sure to sign up forProject FeederWatch, where you canparticipate in a winter-long survey of birds that visit yourfeeder.

BirdFeeders - Best bird feeders by type including tube, platform,squirrel proof, hopper and window bird feeders.

What Do Birds Eat? - Food guide by species

Bird feeder and Red-bellied Woodpecker photos courtesy of Murry Foubister and Samantha Forsberg, respectively.