There is no surefire way to keep birdseed from sprouting. Some people sterilize bird seed by heating it on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, but that is a lot of work to do on a consistent basis. Some people rake up the spilled seed once or twice a week with a Shop Vac. You can buy the sunflower chips (shelled, broken sunflower seeds) and they won't sprout because they have been "damaged" by being broken. They are more expensive than mixed birdseed, but there is no waste. You can rake the area under the feeder once or twice a week to break up the sprouts before they are well rooted. Sometimes ground-feeding birds eat the seed spilled onto the ground before it sprouts--it just depends on how many ground-feeding birds you have hanging around your yard. At our house, birdseed and hen scratch don't get a chance to sprout because the doves (and cottontail rabbits) eat it all. There are many plants you can incorporate into your plantings to attract birds. Many of them will attract butterflies and hummingbirds as well. TREES: Trees like oaks, cedars, elms and hackberrie provide food, cover and nesting sites for birds. NATIVE PLANTS are the ones that most attract birds since these are plants they already use as a food source. These include trees, shrubs and vines like junipers, yaupon hollies, possumhaw hollies, viburnums, Mexican plums, rough-leaf dogwood, elderberries, sumac, Virginia creeper vine and red mulberry. Pretty much any tree or shrub that produces berries or other small fruit (like crabapples or persimmons) will attract birds. Blackberry and dewberry brambles attract birds, as do fruit-bearing trees like cherries, peaches and plums. To Attract Hummingbirds: You can attract hummingbirds using hummingbird feeders, but you have to change the nectar about once every three days to keep it from fermenting and harming the birds. They also are attracted to plants. Here's some you can plant that they like: Red-flowered yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) American Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata) Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) Red-flowered Morning Glory (Ipomoea sp.)(annual) Cypress Vube (Ipomoea quamoclit) (annual) Purple Horsemint (Monarda citriodora) Wild Bergamont (Monarda fistulosa) Spotted Beebalm (Mondarda punctuata) Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinia) (usually annual, may reseed)(aka Texas Hummingbird Sage) Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) Heart-leaf Hibiscus (Hibiscus cardiophyllus) Scarlet Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra) Drummmon's Phlox (Phlox drummondii) Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) (spring wildflower) Lantana (Lantana horrida) Many birds are attracted to composite flowers that provide seeds, including sunflowers, zinnias, Mexican sunflower, purple coneflowers, safflowers, etc. After they bloom, you don't deadhead them if they were planted for the birds. You leave the flowers on the plants so the birds can "harvest" the seeds as they dry. Don't forget to provide some kind of water source for the birds--a birdbath, a mister, a dripper, etc. Different kinds of birdseed attract different birds. To attract goldfinches in the winter months, put out a goldfinch feeder filled with thistle seed. Sometimes you can attract orioles by putting out oranges, orange-flavored nectar or grape jelly. Dawn

Sure would love to see one of those. We do get the Tufted variety here, and I love them. They are so spunky!

i had one pair of house finches bring their babys 4 of them last week but they have went somewhere. Had one downey yesterday and a Lewis's woodpecker the day before. only kinds in big numbers are the bullocks orioles and the western tanagers and lots of red wing blackbirds and some grosbeaks. one lone juniper titmouse comes occasionally. and the hummingbirds are rare this year. should have lots of little orioles and tanagers soon as they are nesting now

My entire family has always fed the birds and gone on bird watching weekends, etc. my sister also raises chickens, and introduced me to live meal worms as a source of protein for birds (and fish and pet reptiles and even humans). But, they are especially beneficial for nesting birds raising chicks. As I read about the precipitous drop in the numbers of pollinators, it only makes sense that other insects might be threatened as well. And, if there are fewer insects, there might be less food for the birds to feed their chicks. Plus, I need another hobby, right? So, I raise live meal worms in my basement and feed them to the birds. Now I have robins looking in my window each morning wondering when breakfast is coming. I'm looking forward to when the babies start to fly and can visit the feeders themselves. Martha