Wild Bird Food - Types of Food for Wild Birds

Black Oil Sunflower Seed BOSS - Best offered in hanging tube feeders, platform or hopper bird feeders.

Black Oil Sunflower Seed BOSS attracts: Highly attractive bird seed. Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, grosbeaks and jays.

Black oil sunflower seed is considered the best all purpose bird seed to provide for garden songbirds. For those people who only have a single bird feeder, BOSS is the seed of choice. It attracts a wide variety of species to a backyard habitat, has thinner shells than gray striped sunflower seed so the shells create less mess as they rot and blow away faster than the thicker gray striped. Birds also prefer BOSS over gray stripped sunflower seed.

Striped Sunflower Seed - Best offered in hanging tube feeders, platform and hopper feeders.

Attracts the same birds as black oil sunflower seed, but most birds seem to prefer black oil. Striped Sunflower Seed attracts: Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, grosbeaks and jays.

Striped Sunflower Seed has a ticker shell than black oil seed does, which is something backyard bird watchers should be aware of. This is important as the shells create more of a mess under bird feeders than BOSS will and require more frequent cleaning. It is less expensive than BOSS.

Hulled Shelled Sunflower Seed, Chips or Hearts - Best offered in hanging tube feeders due to it's smaller size, although may be used on a platform or tray style bird feeder. It will fall easily out of a hopper design bird feeder so is not recommended for hoppers. Sunflower chips will do better in a hopper feeder when added to a mix, however you may find birds digging through the mix and throwing seed on the ground to get to the type of seed they want. A bird may toss a lot of food out of the feeder in an attempt to reach that one chip.

Hulled Shelled Sunflower Seed, Chips or Hearts attracts: Woodpeckers, mockingbirds, wrens, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, grosbeaks, sparrows and jays.

Thistle/Nyjer Seed - Best offered in specialty nyjer thistle feeders, stockings, mesh or tube bird feeders. Two of the most colorful and desired backyard birds are northern cardinals and American goldfinches. And nyjer thistle seeds are just about the favorite food of both. The brilliant yellow and black goldfinch commonly favors the smaller, black nyjer seed. Nyjer contains roughly 40% oil, which is a dietary essential for wild bird.

Thistle Nyjer Seed attracts: Favorite seeds of goldfinches. Other birds who like it are House Finches, Purple Finches, Pine Siskins and redpolls.

Safflower Seed - Best offered in hanging tube feeders, hopper feeders and platform tray bird feeders. Squirrels commonly will not eat safflower seed so it is used as a food to discourage squirrels and keep them out of bird feeding stations.

Safflower Seed attracts: Many of the same birds as black oil sunflower seed but not quite as well. Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, house finches, grosbeaks, and jays will all eat safflower seed. Cardinals like safflower seed in particular.

Millet - Offer on platform tray feeders or just scatter on the ground. Millet is a very small seed and not recommended for hopper or tube feeders as it will just fall out and end up on the ground. Millet is a favorite of buntings and doves, so a worthwile food to offer wild birds.

Millet attracts: Doves, sparrows and juncos, cardinals, bobwhites, quail, and buntings.

Cracked Corn - Best offered in seed mixes, hopper feeders , tray feeders or scattered on the ground.

Attracts: Primarily ground feeding birds such as pheasants, quail, doves, sparrows, towhees, blackbirds, grackles and jays. Good squirrel and chipmunk diversion feeding option.

Nuts & Peanuts - Several birds go nuts for peanuts and other nut treats. Specialty peanut bird feeders are fashioned to dispense nuts. It is a food best offered in specialty peanut feeders or in a mix when using a hopper feeder, or use on trays or scattered on the ground.

Nuts & Peanuts attracts: Most birds that like hulled sunflower seeds will eat nuts. Woodpeckers, mockingbirds, chickadees, titmice, wrens. thrashers, nuthatches, goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, grosbeaks and jays. A peanut feeder is frequently a very active place in any bird feeding station.

Suet - From woodpeckers to bluebirds, mockingbirds to warblers, suet attract a variety of birds to a garden with the addition of a suet feeder. Suet, in its purest form, is simply animal fat. This food is high energy food with lots of calories, fat and protein that birds need, particularly as the days and nights get cooler. Suet is a high energy blend of animal fat and other ingredients to appeal to insect eating birds who might not visit a feeder with only seeds. It is a immediate source of heat and energy for birds. It commonly has been used as a beneficial substitute for the insects that birds generally feed upon but are not easy for them to find in cold weather. Suet can be offered all year long by using specialty no melt dough in warm, summer weather.

Meal worms & Insects - Meal worms are popular schoolroom experimental insects but also a fantastic and easy food to offer wild birds. They are simple to obtain, and they go through complete metamorphosis. The four stages of total metamorphosis are egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Meal worms are the larval stage of darkling or flour beetles. They can be bought very inexpensively and are sold as food for fish, turtles, frogs, toads, lizards, and birds. Meal worms add protein to numerous birds' diets. For example, bluebirds might eat 85% insects. Providing these worms to birds contributes extra nutritious food during nesting season and feeds the baby birds a beneficial start on life, and may save a bird's life while it can not discover food during the winter or during a abrupt cold snap in spring. When early arriving migratory songbirds arrive in a garden, there may not be too many insects in time.

In North America American Robins, Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Brown Creepers, Brown Thrashers, Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Catbirds, Chickadees, Chipping Sparrows, Downy Woodpeckers, Field Sparrows, Finches, Grackles, Grosbeaks, Hairy Woodpeckers, Indigo Buntings, Juncos, Kinglets, Mockingbirds, Nuthatches, Orioles, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Rufus-sided Towhees, Song Sparrows, Tanagers, Vireos, Warblers, and numerous other birds will visit a meal worm feeder!

Nectar - Designed to be used in specialty nectar dispenser feeders for hummingbirds and orioles. No backyard bird feeding station is complete without feeders to attract those tiny flying jewels, hummingbirds, and the equally glorious oriole. In the wild, hummingbirds have two major sources of food: flower nectar and small insects, such as gnats and spiders, which furnish protein. They pick their insects from flowers or grab them out of the air as they dart around looking for nectar. Hummingbirds readily use a nectar feeder, and ninety percent of their time is committed to obtaining nectar. There are two common feeder designs: saucer and vacuum. The second comes in a extensive range of capabilities, materials and plans, and is easily hung from a tree limb or pole. It also can be mounted directly to the outside of a window. Saucers are basin feeders covered with a lid with numerous feeding ports. The lid lifts entirely off for effortless cleaning. When you shop for a new hummingbird feeder, look for: Bee guards and ant moats Bees and ants are attracted to the same sugar-water mix as hummingbirds and orioles, making a nuisance to feeding birds and even polluting the nectar. Barricade ants by putting a barrier, such as a water filled moat between the ants and the nectar. Bees and wasps have short mouth parts, so bee safeguards over the end of the feeding pipes intervene with their reaching the food. Select a feeder that equals the number of hummers which feed in your yard. Larger sizes may be enticing, but it's better to begin with a smaller feeder to cut down on waste and the odds of nectar being ignored and becoming spoiled. Perches Hummingbirds are so athletic they can eat on the fly. A perch is not mandatory in order to dine. All the same, a perch may provide an motivator to hang around for a brief while.

Wild Bird Mixes - Best offered on a tray or platform bird feeder.

Mixes of bird seed may contain any number of seeds and nut combination, They are not recommended to use in tube or hopper bird feeders as the birds will dig through the mix, pushing aside the seeds they do not want in order to get to the seed they do want. Your feeders will be emptied in no time, with the seed scattered about the ground.

Fruit & Berries - When the seasons change, try out different offerings at your own feeding station. Birds find certain types of food in short supply during some seasons! Offering fruit in spring and winter is a good choice, and fall for those migratory birds who pass through and need a quick meal. you never know which foods may attract to a moody feathered guest. Eastern Baltimore and western Bullock's orioles, for instance, will accept raisins, apple and banana slices as well as oranges. They evidently have a taste for sweets because grape jelly has been known to charm to them to feeding stations. You can attract orioles that may drink from hummingbird feeders but usually orioles require a larger perch on the feeder as well as a larger supply of sugar water solution. Feeders are designed just for these lovely feathered beauties. As with any feeder, check your food offerings to make certain they haven't attracted ants or become moldy.

All about birding. They have a great deal of bird seed and food types available including wildlife and squirrel foods. Also bird houses, baths, cleaning supplies and many bird feeder styles. Globe, platform, squirrel proof, you name it!

Has squirrel proof feeders, bird baths, decorative indoor outdoor houses and fountains. They also carry very attractive butterfly houses and sundial bird baths which we rather like!

Fountains, fountains and more fountains in cement, cast stone, copper, resin and fiberglass. A bird bath is a must and these people carry an enormous selection.

A small selection of wonderful birding products for those who don't care to be ordinary. Functional garden art.

Decorative bird feeders and houses. Mainly painted metal, but very attractive and great for the whimsical garden, They also offer glass feeding dishes for butterfly and bird.

Pretty accents for the traditional garden, stone, resin, cement and fiberglass. Very old world and traditional with some modern touches. They have some interesting pieces which may be bird feeder or baths. A nice browse!

Added simply for their highly decorative indoor outdoor bird houses. Some of them are quite grand!

Both decorative and useful bird houses and baths. They carry some pretty ornate bird feeders and houses! Selection of garden pedestal baths. Perfect bird feeders for providing food for wild birds in any backyard habitat.