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What kind of bird food attracts the largest variety of bird species?
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5 Responses to What kind of bird food attracts the largest variety of bird species?
Feeding will result in them no longer eating what nature provides them to eat. Bugs, and the bugs will then feed upon you.
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My Dad loves to feed birds, and he uses a mix that contains sunflowers (large birds like bluejays ,cardinals), thistle seed, (finches love this), and other wildflower/grass seeds. He says that any mixed seed is really the best thing to use….and he uses all brands.
If you want hummingbirds, you can plant flowering shrubs and perennials to attract them, as well as butterflies.
dad
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Well you will have different requirements for different birds. Many, like the robin, are meat eaters and won’t be attracted to the feeders unless you make a platform feeder and put meal worms or wax worms in it.
Standard wild bird mix is good as it contains a lot of different seeds that they will be attracted to. But also put out some specific feed such as thistle seed in a thistle feeder. There are many of the smaller finches that love this seed (American Goldfinch for one).
You will do well with providing cover in the area in the form of dense bushes, trees, shrubs, ground cover, high canopy, and medium canopy stuff. This way the different species will be comfortable in the area. Also put out different types of feeders. Cage feeders where helps the little birds compete for food as the large birds can’t get to it, platform feeders are frequented by almost all different types of birds, hanging “house”/tube/bottle feeders, suet feeder cage, and put out a sugar water feeder too (a humming bird feeder with a perch).
Many different birds require much different sources of feed and some only feed on the ground or something that simulates it (like a platform feeder). Others like to cling to the sides of the feeders so having a cage type feeder with black oil sunflower in it works well for these types of birds. The sugar water feeder will attract any hummingbirds in the area as well as orioles and sometimes various sapsucker/woodpeckers. Suet feed attracts a very large variety of birds from wood peckers all the way down to little finches and sparrows. Cracked or whole kernel corn is favored by many of the jay species as well as grackles. Black oil sunflower is a staple for quite a few birds as well and will attract a huge variety from sparrows to finches to nuthatches to.. etc etc.
Here’s a great site for some information on helping you identify the different birds in your area and also some information on them…. http://www.whatbird.com/ Also, contact your local audobon society as they will have a wide range of information for you too.
*EDIT*
In response to the first answer you received. This is totally untrue. They will still feed on the natural sources and many birds only use feeders as supplemental feed. It will not stop them from their natural foraging for food and only serves to help them by providing a positive food source in a location that requires little to no competition to achieve.
Many years of backyard bird habitat building and maintenance.
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in your pet food store there would be packaged seed for wild birds. ie seed for small parrots or large parrots. If you can’t get that just use budgie seed.
Many years of backyard bird habitat building and maintenance.
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Well I know that blue jays really like peanuts and robins aren’t seed eating birds. Finches really like niger(thistle) seed, but will also eat seed mixes. Bluebirds like mealworms. I would say a mix that also has some dried fruit in it would be good.
Many years of backyard bird habitat building and maintenance.
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