Garden feeder notes.
Six things actually belong in a bird feeder: black-oil sunflower seed, sunflower hearts, nyjer (thistle), safflower, peanuts, and suet. The first one - black-oil sunflower - attracts the widest range of species and is the single best universal choice. Skip cheap “wild bird mix” full of red millet and milo, which most birds throw on the ground.
The six that work
- Black-oil sunflower seed - the universal staple. Thin shells, high oil content. Attracts chickadees, titmice, cardinals, nuthatches, finches, jays, sparrows. Use this if you only buy one thing.
- Sunflower hearts (no shell) - same birds, less mess, more expensive.
- Nyjer (thistle) - tiny black seed for finches: American goldfinch, pine siskin, house finch. Use in a dedicated mesh sock or tube feeder.
- Safflower - white seed, slightly bitter. Cardinals love it; squirrels and starlings don’t. Useful for managing problem visitors.
- Peanuts (shelled or whole-in-shell) - woodpeckers, nuthatches, blue jays, titmice. Whole-shell for jays; shelled or crushed for smaller birds.
- Suet - rendered fat in cake form, often mixed with seeds or insects. Winter favourite for woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, wrens.
What to skip
- Generic “wild bird mix” - the cheap kind contains red millet, milo, and cracked corn that most desirable songbirds ignore. They scratch it onto the ground where it attracts rats.
- Bread - empty calories, fouls the bird and the feeder.
- Salted or seasoned anything - sodium is toxic to birds.
The “mix” problem is a real one: paying for a mix means paying for filler that ends up wasted. Black-oil sunflower in a tube feeder is cheaper per bird-served.
Which feeder for which seed
- Tube feeder - black-oil sunflower, sunflower hearts, safflower.
- Mesh sock or fine-port tube - nyjer (thistle) only.
- Hopper feeder - mixed sunflower and peanuts.
- Platform / tray - cracked corn for ground-feeding birds (but bring in at night to deter rats).
- Suet cage - suet cakes.
- Peanut feeder (mesh tube) - whole peanuts for woodpeckers and jays.
When to feed
The standard advice is feeding year-round (which most ornithology groups now endorse), with seasonal emphasis:
- Winter - heavy emphasis on suet and sunflower for calorie support.
- Spring - mealworms when natural insects are still scarce; helps nesting birds.
- Summer - lighter; natural food abundant. Some feed nyjer for late-summer goldfinches.
- Autumn - returning birds; back to sunflower and peanuts.
Stopping in summer is not necessary in most regions, and may actually harm late-broods that depend on supplemental food.
Cleaning
Cleaning matters more than people think. A dirty feeder spreads disease - the most common cause of mass songbird die-offs in winter is salmonella from contaminated feeders.
The routine:
- Empty the feeder weekly - even if seed is still in it, take it down.
- Soak in 10% bleach solution for 15 minutes.
- Rinse thoroughly, dry completely before refilling.
- Move location periodically to let the ground beneath recover.
Wagner's Black-Oil Sunflower Seed (20 lb)
The single best seed for a backyard feeder.
A 20 lb bag of pure black-oil sunflower seed - the universal choice for tube feeders and hopper feeders. Attracts more species than any other single seed. Wagner's Four Season Black Oil is the standard supermarket-grade option.
- 20 lb bag of pure black-oil sunflower
- Attracts chickadees, finches, nuthatches, cardinals, jays
- Thin-shell variety, easier on smaller bills than striped sunflower
Wagner's · 20 lb
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The bottom line
Stick to the six that work, with black-oil sunflower as the staple. Skip cheap mixes. Clean the feeder weekly. Move it occasionally. That’s the whole game.
For more, see our peanut butter feeder guide for woodpeckers and the colour aversion piece for window-strike prevention.
