Wild Bird Seed And Food Options

Most wild birds suffer from loss of habitat. Birds must continually adjust to urban development via housing and commercial district construction. Therefore the natural foraging opportunities for wild seeds in goldenrod, yarrow and aster will be missing from an urban bird’s diet. The home owner can supplement the loss of those seeds with the planting of a variety of flowers that will enhance their yard and also attract wild birds.

Take for instance your roses-the old blooms on roses offer up seed that birds enjoy. Seed heads of both annual and perennial flowers provide food and tasty insects to sustain sparrows, juncos and other ground feeding birds. The most planted flower, the sunflower, comes in a variety of sizes from small to large providing food particular to chickadees, nuthatches and small clinging birds. If a homeowner desires to feed the wild birds through the winter months, they will need to plan for supplemental food used with different types of bird feeders.

Wild bird food and bird feeders must match. For example, tubular feeders should have the right proportion seed ports for the type of feed you will be filling them with. Nyjer tube feeders, which attract goldfinches and red polls, have very small feeder ports compared to seed tube feeders, which attract the chickadees and house finches and will hold the bigger sunflower seeds. To eliminate the problem of wasted bird feed, a seed hoop can be attached to the bottom of the tube feeder to catch spilled seeds.

Black oil sunflower seeds are very good, high-oil, food source for sustaining bird health, and are the best bird seed for hanging tray feeders. For ground feeding birds, like doves and sparrows, they will appreciate a flat ground tray keeping the feed of mixed seeds off of the damp and dirty ground.

Putting in the time and effort to supplement food for birds, with planted flowers and bird feeders will be a rewarding endeavor as you watch wild birds flock to your wild bird oasis.

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American goldfinch wild canary feeder niger seed catching tray