You’ve filled your feeder with a big bag of seed from the hardware store, but your backyard is strangely quiet. Meanwhile, your neighbor’s yard is bustling with cardinals, goldfinches, and chickadees.
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Check PriceThe problem isn’t your feeder—it’s what’s inside it. Those bargain seed mixes are often packed with fillers that birds simply won’t eat, and understanding what’s actually in that discount bag can transform your birding success completely.
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Discount Bags Are Loaded With Filler Seed
There are many types of bird seed for birds, some of which are just filler seeds meant to load a bag and be put on the market at the lowest cost possible. You walk into your local farm and garden store to pick up a bag of bird food, and the options are endless.
From seed mixes of sunflower, safflower, and millet to mealworms, the list goes on and on. It can be difficult to know what type of feed is best for the birds in your yard.
Fresh, clean birdseed. You may be tempted to pull out a bag of last year’s birdseed and put it in your feeder, and that may be fine – but be sure to check for mold, mildew, and bug infestations first!
The last thing you want to do is offer food that will make the birds sick. Additionally, if you put out old, moldy food that the birds don’t want, they may become disinterested in your yard as a spot for feeding!
Birds Scoop Past Empty Hulls in Low-Quality Seed
Purchase the best quality bird seed. Even if you use one type of seed, such as black oil sunflower, and the birds still toss some out, it could be that the seed is low quality.
When the birds open the shell from low-quality seed, it is often empty, or the seed is immature. This results in the birds scooping out seeds looking for ones filled with nutritional material.
If you’re just looking to feed birds and don’t care which ones, sunflower seeds are a pretty safe bet. From larger birds like cardinals, grosbeaks, and blue jays down to smaller finches, nuthatches, and chickadees, tons of birds eat sunflower seeds.
Some woodpeckers are even a possibility. These feeders are large trays that are filled with any type of seed you want.
Basic seed mixes like those with black oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds will be popular with many backyard birds that visit platform feeders.
Cheap Mixes Cost More Because Birds Leave the Filler
While cheap wild bird mixes save you money upfront, you might find that you end up spending just as much or even more in the long run since the filler ingredients will end up uneaten. Most cardinal seed packages will include a mixture of safflower and sunflower seeds.
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Some mixes will also include cheap filler ingredients like milo and white millet, but they ultimately don’t do much to attract birds to your backyard. While some birds will eat them, skip these ingredients if you’re mixing your own birdseed.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Cheap bird seed can be plenty effective at providing birds with quality nutrition all year, but be sure to check on the ingredients before purchasing.
Either sunflower seed is fine, but if you’re looking to avoid feeding birds such as sparrows and blackbirds, try striped sunflower seeds. It might be a little bit more expensive, but if you can avoid large quantities of seed going to birds you don’t want to see, it may be worth the cost.
Milo, Millet, and Cracked Corn Are the Fillers Birds Ignore
Many finch mixes may include millet, canola seed, or other fillers. While they won’t always end up wasted, it may be preferable to just mix sunflower hearts or chips and thistle.
You can do this yourself or buy a mix, like this one: Black oil sunflower seeds attract the widest variety of birds including cardinals, chickadees, and nuthatches. Nyjer seeds are perfect for finches and siskins.
Safflower seeds deter squirrels while attracting cardinals and chickadees. For hummingbird feeders, use a simple recipe of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water – never use honey, artificial sweeteners, or red dye.
Suet cakes work well in window suet feeders during cooler months. Avoid seed mixes with filler ingredients like milo and cracked corn that most birds ignore.
Sunflower and Safflower Bring the Widest Mix of Birds
Clean out your feeders well and then fill them with safflower seed only. Some birds love safflower, including cardinals, chickadees, and nuthatches, but most don’t, including starlings and some blackbirds.
Sunflower seeds can be messy, as birds will crack them open and eat the seeds, leaving shells all over the place, but birds love them. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, safflower is a favorite of birds like cardinals, grosbeaks, chickadees, and sparrows.
Clean Feeders, Clear Waste Seed, and Match Seed to the Feeder
To clean your bird feeders, use a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach. Soak all parts of the feeder in the solution and rinse thoroughly with water.
After, let it dry completely. They’re similar to platform feeders in that the uneaten seed can be a hotspot of bacteria if not regularly cleaned up, although more seed is kept dry than in a simple platform feeder, which is definitely a bonus.
When I clean my feeders, I pour any seed still in the feeders or seed catchers into my ground feeders for the squirrels, who make quick work of it, then fill the clean feeders with fresh seed. Thistle bird seed (or nyjer seed) requires a specifically designed tube feeder for this seed with very tiny feeding ports.
The seed is very small and light weight, making it unsuitable for conventional feeders. Through experience I found this out when the wind blew all the seed out of the feeder in short order.
An expensive lesson! I quickly purchased a finch feeder.
Mix Your Own Seed and Keep Feeders in One Spot
Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you want to buy bird seed or mix your own. Mixing your own seed can be time-consuming, but it could save you money in some cases and develop the perfect mix of seeds for the birds in your yard without wasting money on extra seed that the species of birds in your yard don’t like.
5. Keep your feeders in one spot, even if it creates a mess!
Some people suggest moving your feeders around your yard regularly to give the seed that has fallen an opportunity to naturally compost.
If birds leave the cheap mix
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Birds leave most of the bag uneaten | Discount mixes are loaded with filler seed sold at the lowest cost. Milo, white millet, and cracked corn are fillers most birds ignore. | Check the ingredients. Skip milo and white millet if you mix your own. Avoid mixes with milo and cracked corn. |
| Birds scoop seed and toss it out | Low-quality seed: when they open the shell it is often empty, or the seed is immature | Purchase the best quality bird seed, even if you offer only black oil sunflower |
| Birds get sick or lose interest in the yard | Last year's seed with mold, mildew, or a bug infestation | Check old seed before you use it. Offer fresh, clean birdseed. |
| You spend as much or more over time | Cheap mixes save money upfront, but the filler ingredients end up uneaten | Mix your own for the species in your yard, or check the ingredients before purchasing. Cheap bird seed can be plenty effective if the ingredients are good. |
| Sparrows and blackbirds dominate | The sunflower type you chose | Try striped sunflower seeds; they cost a little more |
| A finch mix sits wasted | Many finch mixes include millet, canola seed, or other fillers | Mix sunflower hearts or chips and thistle instead |
| Squirrels, starlings, or some blackbirds take over the feeder | Most birds do not love safflower, including starlings and some blackbirds | Clean the feeders well and fill them with safflower seed only. Cardinals, chickadees, and nuthatches still come. |
| Uneaten seed turns into a bacteria hotspot | Waste seed under platform-style feeders is not cleaned up | Clean with nine parts water to one part bleach: soak, rinse, and dry completely. Clear waste seed; leftover seed can go in a ground feeder for squirrels. |
| Nyjer or thistle blows away or will not stay in the feeder | The seed is very small and light weight, so it is unsuitable for conventional feeders; wind can blow it out | Use a tube feeder made for this seed, with very tiny feeding ports |
| A mess under the feeder, or people keep moving it | Some people suggest moving feeders around so fallen seed can compost | Keep your feeders in one spot, even if it creates a mess |
