Wild About Wild Life

Bird seeds have been a major staple for wild birds forever. Now days, it is pretty easy to set out bird seed and or buy bulk bird seed. Awhile back, the only seed that was really available was sunflower bird seed. They had the thick-shelled seed with a gray stripes going down them. Since then, black-oil sunflower seed has been the big hit since back in the days. We want to look at what the scoop is with wild bird seed, whether you are buying the seed or if you want to go more natural, by growing the seed yourself. Here’s the scoop!

Grow Your Own Birdseed:  If you take the time to plant bird seed in your backyard, it will grow and produce more bird seed. One of the most famous forms of seed growth is the sunflower plants. However, there is another type of bird seed that you may not have considered and that is the safflower. With its spiky stems and prolific seed production, you’ll really enjoy the amount of bird seed that just one plant produces. Many people leave these flowers in the field for the birds to enjoy. Then there are others, who take the challenge and harvest safflower and sunflowers and store them in a cool, dry place until they need it for winter bird feeding. Some other seed producing plants that you may want to add flax, marigolds and poppies to the mix as well.

Black-Oil Sunflower Seed: These seem to be a bit more popular now days than the traditional sunflower seeds. These are smaller and have a thin, papery shell that produces to the smaller bills of sparrows, goldfinches and juncos.  A good idea is to crack the wild bird seed before you buy as they could contain something called Indian-flour moth larvae. Ensure that the shells are well filled and free of insects.

Sunflower Seed: Consider sunflower hearts as a part of your wild bird feeding program in your backyard network. Just about every bird species will east sunflower bird seed at your posted feeding stations. Hull-less sunflower hearts are a real good feed for the weak billed birds as well such as Siskins and Wrens. Remember that sunflower hearts are 100% edible and they last much longer in a feeder than the black-oil bird seed. They can become quickly waterlogged, so make sure that you only put the hearts in suspended feeders or in open feeders so that they stay attractive to the wild birds.

Mixed Seeds: Lastly mixed seeds or also known as wild bird mix, is a vital ingredient of a feeding program. All mixes can be different. Ensure that you know what kind of bird you are trying to feed. Niger, or thistle seed is a good seed if you want to bypass germination and it not becoming a weed when it hits the ground. Goldfinches are attracted to these as well.

I hope you will be successful in attracting the kinds of wild birds in your neck of the woods. Now you know the scoop on sunflower bird seed and wild bird seed as well. For more information on how you can order your bird seed on-line, visit:  www.wildlife-houses.com/index.php?cPath=17&page=2

Happy Bird Feeding To You From The Birdhouse Guy!