What Bird Seed Attracts The MOST Birds?

[@kathiemallory8855]

ALL my birds, no matter the size LOVE the blackoil sunflower seeds

[@cherriemcbratney162]

Thank you for this very important education on bird seed. We are overwhelmed by starlings. My husband wants to feed them all. But we cannot afford that. We are trying the mixed ground food that you suggested and to move them to the grassy match that we do not fertilize the grass. Ordered on line from you will pick up this afternoon. Thanks for all you do! 😊😊❤

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Starlings have been horrible this past month. I hope when the temperatures moderate they my lighten up a bit.

[@kahwana1604]

My finches and smaller birds are really enjoying golden safflower seed. Cardinals love the shelled sunflower seeds. I find it important this time of year to have suet available. Always have water available near the feeding area. I enjoy your channel.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

That is great to hear. A very sound feeding setup.

[@oboewankenobo8675]

Mark, enjoy your vids, which are extremely informative. My family got me one of the high end camera feeders. I put it on a 4x4 post with a squirrel baffle which really works. I didn’t want them chewing up my $200 feeder! Anyway, the feeder has 2 separate seed hoppers and I decided to try the no shell route. Shelled nuts on one side, shelled black oil sunflower in the other. Birds loved them, but very, very expensive. I calculated that 40 lbs of sunflowers with shell was approximately 20 lbs without shells and if you can get on sale almost half of what you pay for no shells. Going the black oil with shell on now, I can deal with the seed shell mess under the feeder.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It really is hard to gauge the enjoyment that bird feeding brings us.

[@JuanHuerta-i1n]

I feed wild birds seed bird food. Cardinals love sunflower feed. I always have water near bird feeders.

[@anniegaddis5240]

Thank you, sharing this one too!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

You are very welcome!

[@masspatriot5409]

I have a wonderful variety of birds but the favorites are thistle seed for my finches and black sunflower seeds for the majority of others. I also provide suet nuggets and they love that but especially my woodpeckers. Summer time is nectar for my hummies and grape jelly for my orioles

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

That is a great variety! You have good taste in what you offer.

[@user-lz6dm5lk9y]

Mark, your videos are very informative and helpful. Thank you. Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, prosperous 2025. God bless.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

I am so glad you enjoy the channel! I hope the same for you and yours.

[@horseman2232]

well gee mark i just loved the live please do more .

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@horseman2232 will do!

[@jamescady723]

Great video...very helpful!! Thanks

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Thank you for watching. Glad you found it helpful.

[@gloriajohnson8297]

I feed the black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, suet pellets, homemade suet cakes, seed logs, whole peanuts, shelled peanuts, live mealwoms and dried mealworms. I have so many different birds in the winter!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

You've got a pretty complete buffet set up there!

[@coldspring624]

I have found in the early spring the returning Indigo Buntings really go for white millet in my tray feeders and will stay on them well into the summer. I have started cutting back on other feeds so it works out well switching to millet in the tray's

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

That is great you have them coming in for that long. We typically only have them for a week or so in the Spring. Millet is a good seed as long as you aren't getting overrun with House Sparrow

[@jeanetterandolph4179]

Can you use a sock for your Black Tie Finch Mix? or another feeder with this mix?

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@jeanetterandolph4179 some do but I warn that the sunflower chips can swell with moisture so they may not come out as easy. I recommend a tube feeder with small holes.

[@jeanetterandolph4179]

Thank you for the information.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@jeanetterandolph4179 You are welcome!

[@taunichurchill4633]

Great info, thank you!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

I'm glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!

[@kimesch9698]

Love feeding my doves!

[@Magpie-1111]

My buntings love white millet and they prefer the feeder rather than the ground, so I always have them in my feeder (along with black oil sunflower seeds).

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@Magpie-1111 They do have a wide diet and millet is a favorite.

[@gleamtarrest6310]

Allot if bulk birdseed is full if twigs & grit just to make the sale weight.. also have found some sort of weevils that will eat the seeds.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@gleamtarrest6310 Not our seed. Des Moines Feed Company takes great care in cleaning their seed and only buying from farmers whose crops meet their standard. A lot of big boxes just buy the cheapest they can get.

[@Encourageable]

I found the same. I thought Ace might be better but they are just as bad. Looks old and dusty.

[@vickykirts7956]

The closer I look I will always find small holes in some of the sunflowe hulls

[@gleamtarrest6310]

I have been putting my birdseed in the freezer no less than 3 days, that way it will kill of any remaining bugs. After that I keep in fridge.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@gleamtarrest6310 3 days will kill the adult moths. To kill the eggs, larvae and adults it is recommended to keep in the freezer for two weeks.

[@margaretmayer715]

During major snow accumulation..10 male cardinals and 10 female that eat on my lawn, shoveled, to access many doves, juncos, native sparrows, etc. Be ready to help injured birds, blending sunflowers into paste. Silence during feeding... hawk nearby. It's been 50 years of joyous bird feeding.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

You are taking good care of your feathered friends.

[@jonathanschadenfreude9603]

we had three diff types.......the thin black seed for the tiny birds the black oil sunflower seeds for the grosbeeks etc and the general song bird mix with suet. waterbury ctr vermont from 88-2010

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

I'm sure they are enjoying you offerings!

[@pintsizestories196]

Goldfinches in our area are quite happy eating the black sunflower seeds like all the other birds. Sadly can't ground feed or do trays because of the squirrels.

[@Kellysher]

I’m retiring next year. Today I’m spending an insane amount of money on birdseed. I really enjoy them, and I’m struggling to find the best economical way to keep doing it. I look for a quality mix without millet, and price in out by the pound. I run all over the place, store to store trying to find the sales. I’ve considered bulk purchases, but can’t store in attached garage due to the moths. I watch for coupons,etc. My dream would be to be able to have an app or website that would tell you where to go in your neighborhood with the cheapest good seed! If that exists,please share.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

I find that Black Oil Sunflower is the most economical "good" seed. It has a truly wide appeal and it is generally a high value seed compared to mixes.

[@Biblesmakegoodkindling]

Do you have room to grow sunflowers? I started doing it a few years ago and this year I am expanding the plot to about 45 plants. During the summer I usually get 2-3 harvests (depending on the weather) and I enjoy watching them eat off the plant.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@ I definitely do not.

[@heavenbound392]

Costco has very good bird seed. It has a great combo of sunflower seeds nuts and dried cherries.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It's great to hear you've found a good option!

[@kleineroteHex]

Will have to check that out!

[@808OnMyMind]

For years I bought only black oil sunflower seeds and suet with occasional bags of specialty seeds but w/o millet. This year I’ve gone zero waste to various hulled sunflower seeds due to living on the second floor with a new neighbor downstairs. I don’t want them to deal with the shells falling down. This year I’m fighting off ‘herds’ of starlings. It’s so bad I’m only feeding while I’m at home and can keep my eye on who’s at the feeders. When I leave, the feeders come inside. Sounds bazar, and it is. But my seed is so expensive. Any suggestions on ridding the nuisance birds? I stopped all feeding for 10 days a while back but they returned immediately when I started feeding again. Glad I found your video. 👍

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@808OnMyMind The high stress times really bring the starlings in. The best feeders for dealing with them are caged feeders and to a lesser extent the weighted perch feeders. One starling can eat from those but there is rarely just one. When numbers 2,3 and 4 land, the guard is pulled down and they all fly off. They do not like safflower or Nyjer as much but will eat them when desperate.

[@Itsallindica]

I wonder if the birds would appreciate having a little sand in the seed mix, to help them grind food in their crops?

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@Itsallindica Some do provide a source of grit. Dove especially utilize it.

[@Bowhunters6go8xz6x]

Wagner's (Greatest Variety) blend of wild bird seed is the favorite by wild birds here in central USA (Kansas) I have all kinds of birds finches, midges, Cardinals, sparrows, etc. and I even have Turtle Doves that feed daily on the ground underneath the feeder. Never had as many birds and varieties of birds in past winters with other brands that I now have with Wagner's . Negative is that there are so many birds they are going through a lot of feed.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It's great to hear you've had such success with that blend.

[@Art-um7mz]

Do sunflower hulls suppress grass growth?

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

They certainly can. I recommend raking the hulls up regularly.

[@Art-um7mz]

@MarksBackyardBirds Would you happen to know what percent of sunflower seeds is shell. So as to compare prices.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@Art-um7mz It depends on the variety of sunflower but 30% is a pretty good guess.

[@delinayoungs3988]

We feed mil-worms mostly and one feeder of seeds we get them all ! Again the cost is higher than seed but we want to feed the birds who are having there young !

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It’s definitely worth it to help out the birds, especially during nesting season.

[@Marvinmartion]

All I feed are sunflower and peanuts and suet! No waste and literally all of the various birds eat it!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

That is a good feeding plan.

[@bunny_smith]

Who is emptying my safflower feeder onto the ground w/in one or 2 days of filling it and how do I stop it? It’s too expensive.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@bunny_smith If they are just throwing it to the ground, Blue Jays and blackbirds are famous for doing that. Generally, if you only put safflower in the feeder, they learn that there is nothing else there and leave it alone.

[@LuckyGreenStripes]

Can I mix my own by buying different varieties so I don’t have all the fillers I.e Sunflower, safflower etc. I have cardinals, blue jays, wood peckers, finches, doves and occasionally black birds and crows that run off.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Absolutely, we have many folks who mix their own blends.

[@LuckyGreenStripes]

@@MarksBackyardBirds do you ship to Tennessee 38401

[@AndrewJr66]

I love that mesh finch feeder in the video do you sell it

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@AndrewJR66 we do. Here is the link shopbackyardbirdcenter.com/collections/mesh-feeders

[@billlottman7339]

Trouble with sunflower seeds is squirrels. I do use this seed, but only in feeders that squirrels can not access. I more commonly use safflower for that reason.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Safflower is a good choice!

[@Steven-kz3zx]

What type of sunflowers are used in kernels? Never have seen a brand that lists if it is black oil.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

According to the folks at Des Moines Feed, it is the stripe sunflowers they use for producing the kernels. Black Oil is used by the crushers to make sunflower oil.

[@Steven-kz3zx]

@@MarksBackyardBirds Thank you.

[@pbcanal1]

Mark, I set out beef trimmings to set if the local juvenile Red Tail would take them and found that the bluejays just love them. Is there anything wrong with doing this with the raw meat? I don't give them the cooked or seasoned meat.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@pbcanal1 I think the only concern is what other unwanted creatures it may attract. It shouldn’t harm the birds

[@scarecrow6741]

Black sunflower seads.

[@vettechsrule]

So I am a retired Vet Tech, and just started the bird thing. Yesterday at dusk, I had so many cardinals at my feeders I couldn't count them all. Is this a thing with cardinals?

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It definitely is. I call them the 4 o'clock birds. They do like the more shadowy conditions like dawn and dusk. When you are bright red, your an easy target for a predator like a Cooper's Hawk to see.

[@vettechsrule]

@MarksBackyardBirds oh wow, thank you!

[@OldMotherLogo]

It has been said that cardinals are the first ones in the morning and the last ones at night. In my old place there were about a dozen cardinals that would arrive around dusk. I could almost set my clock by their arrival. It was fun to watch.

[@MrGapack1965]

Can I feed Sun Dried Raisins?

[@meganramsey2228]

Great info! My biggest problem here in North Central TX is cowbirds taking over my feeders!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Cowbirds can be a real pest. Unfortunately, they are too small to for caged feeders to work against them. Have you tried safflower seed?

[@meganramsey2228]

@MarksBackyardBirds I have, but unfortunately, I still want to keep juncos and finches around. Also, they are very expensive here!

[@dpo1960]

I don’t know why but my finch feeder that I fill with nyger(?) isn’t and hasn’t attracted any birds for a while. I cleaned it and moved it away from my other feeder but I still am getting the same result. Bummer

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@dpo1960 Nyjer is just not a widely accepted seed. Definitely do not keep any seed in a feeder longer than a month and in storage longer than 3 months unless it is refrigerated. You might try mixing it with fine stems flower kernels. That will still work in a finch tube

[@dpo1960]

@ thanks. I’ll try that

[@oldtimer5045]

blue birds feed sunflower chips to young. just took them a while to learn what the feeders are

[@tombarclay7108]

With the cost of seed rising prohibitively, it's getting harder to find premium seed in stores. Most of the seed filling store shelves now are trash mixtures which many birds won't eat.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It is sad, big store will only carry the cheapest seed blends because that is what most people demand. Our prices actually went down this fall due to good crops of certain seeds like safflower. The more you ask for it, the more they will listen (hopefully). The simply answer is to feed black oil sunflower.

[@nancysnead5132]

JUST THIS MONTH JAN. 2025, I SAW A BLUEJAY FLY ONTO A TREE LIMB WITH AN UNHULLED PEANUT IN ITS MOUTH!! LIVED IN NC, USA ALL MY LIFE & HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS NOR DID I KNOW BLUEJAYS LOVED PEANUTS!!! SO AMAZING & I IMMEDIATELY YELLED OUT, "WHERE DID HE FIND THAT PEANUT" CAUSE IT WAS NOT IN MY YARD!!! JUST BEAUTIFUL HOW GOD WORKS!!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

They do love their peanuts. I know several folks who have trained them to eat them right out of their hands.

[@dr.michaelr.foreman2170]

I am sure you know this but maybe your subs don't: Bluejays will bury peanuts like a squirrel does. I have found peanuts buried in my flower beds.

[@ArtByKarenEHaley]

They’ll hide hazelnuts and other items in chimneys, had a bad experience at my old house 😂 Next door neighbors had a hazelnut tree. There was a squirrel and a blue jay that would feud; the squirrel would bury nuts and the jay would wait on the roof. Then the jay would swoop down and pull it out of the ground and hide it up on the chimney

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

That they will. They are the "Johnny Appleseed" of the acorn world.Sorry, I thought I mentioned that.

[@BirdsofaMidwestParadise]

Thank you for sharing such interesting information 😊

[@Shadowbannedandcensored]

This behavior is dangerous to the birds because roasted nuts buried in the ground quickly become colonized by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus.

[@jamesvatter5729]

Exactly! I used to accuse the squirrels of doing that with my neighbor's peanuts. Then I watched for an hour or so one morning. Three jays went nonstop from his feeder to my veggie pots.

[@Biblesmakegoodkindling]

I must ask. Am I the only one who has birds that prefer the striped sunflower over the oil? I put both out but the striped always gets eaten first.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@Biblesmakegoodkindling Stripe is a very good seed. The cost is so much higher, few people ask for it.

[@HappyComfort]

If I buy a mix with safflower seeds in it. The safflower seeds just sit there and are never touched.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Safflower has a very hard shell and a different appeal to many birds. Here is a video I did on Safflower: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIinapJni9Gnr8k

[@michaelK3148]

The world price of sunflower spiked from the start of the Russia v. Ukraine war as these 2 countries combined produce about 60% of worldwide crop. This increased US retail prices over 25% in my observation. Prices have since receded.

[@daleweller5193]

Black oil seed is #1 . I can’t think of any thing that doesn’t eat it .

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

So true, and so simple.

[@mairwaugus5203]

Not in your state, so I could make my own " black tie mix" ?

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

You can. My preference is 75% Fine Chips to 25% Nyjer

[@judymckinney7984]

Do the birds poop in the food on those flat feeders

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@judymckinney7984 Some do but not many. It is why feeders with easy clean bases are so important

[@kathiemallory8855]

When the snow gets deep...ALL birds need help....no matter if you love them or not. They're all God's creatures

[@wesb123]

😊😊😊

[@UPLINKUSA]

My wife put a stop to my feeding birds a month ago. She's so mean. 😩

[@Mrs.GrayMan]

Control freak

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Now that is sad

[@gingermm8987]

😮

[@kleineroteHex]

Why??? My husband just laughs at me feeding them, watches with me some times and will tell me when the squirrel somehow managed to "earthquake" the hopper 😂

[@ronperkins1687]

I’d put her in the garage! lol…

[@sharons4611]

Anyone know how to attract birds & not rats? Let alone squirrels…my HOA sais to stop using bird feeders 🙄 I did plant with natives

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

This video may help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHO6qX9saNJ2fdk

[@sharons4611]

@@MarksBackyardBirds Thanks!

[@DawnRK3204]

We have our feeders attached to a pole with a stove pipe baffle. I’ve videotaped with a wildlife camera many nights and never saw a rat climb it. Squirrels cannot climb it either.

[@DawnRK3204]

My warblers like the millet too.

[@sharons4611]

@@DawnRK3204 I’ve seen squirrels get past mine. Rats were feeding on the ground

[@kentmilbrandt3989]

Don’t know why his goldfinches don’t eat safflower seeds , mine do.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

It is well documented that goldfinches typically can’t crack a safflower seed hull. But you never say never. In my years of doing this you are only the second person who has reported that their goldfinches eat safflower.

[@monikalenz2559]

This migration season we installed a Haikubox and I'm amazed at the variety of birds (120 species so far) that visit here. We live in a wilderness area of the Southern Sierra mountains of California with rivers, creeks and a lake. A creek runs through our property so we get all kinds of wildlife here. Hawks start hanging out if I feed the birds in any one location so I feed mostly cracked corn broadcast on the ground at alternating sites. These last two years have been exceptionally wet so there's plenty of native foods and I've cut back on feeding. But mid-winter I will feed suet and corn again. Quail love the corn! Great information your videos, thank you!

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

@@monikalenz2559 I sounds like you live in area of rish biodiversity.

[@czarcastic1458]

Nothing eats my thistle feed and no bird eats the millet.

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

Nyjer is a specialty seed and only a few species like it. I prefer feeding sunflower and sunflower kernels for the finches. Millet is a grain that many of the native sparrows like juncos like.

[@marciathom6708]

I think he is very knowledgeable, just not good at public speaking.

[@marciathom6708]

A stab had conducted? A stab?

[@MarksBackyardBirds]

I said the staff had conducted.

[@marciathom6708]

@ oh! Thanks!