Frequently Asked Questions

Nongame Wildlife

What kind of birdseed is the best?

Different birds like different kinds of seeds. If I were to choose one seed to put in the feeder, though, it would be black oil sunflower. If provides lots of caloric energy, is one of the easiest to open, and most birds love it. Avoid using mixes with a high concentration of white pearl millet, since many birds just kick the millet out of the feeder while trying to find the sunflower seeds. Millet also tends to attract certain aggressive, non-native species such as house sparrows. If you'd like to attract finches, especially American Goldfinches, try a special feeder filled with thistle (also called niger) seed. It is expensive, but it will attract those goldfinches like a magnet. Ground-feeding birds like mourning dove enjoy cracked corn, but so do squirrels and other small mammals.