Hi Pat.
Thanks for the kind words in the other posting. Here are my thoughts on bird
feeding. You can’t wrong with straight black oil sunflower seed. For years I only
fed BOSS and suet (and suet nuggets), and I attracted a lot of birds with those
two things. Both options are affordable and easy to find. For anyone new to
bird feeding, I would tell them to skip mixes and buy straight BOSS. In my early
days of feeding, I did buy the mixes, but I had a lot of waste under the
feeders because the birds sifted through the “filler” and mostly went for the
BOSS. So I like to buy straight BOSS now.

It wasn’t until
the last couple months that I really started adding a lot of new feed options
(and this is because I started reading books and learned how much more the
birds will eat). I started feeding Nyjer/thistle, safflower, peanuts, almonds,
pecans, hulled sunflower chips/hearts (just means no shell), cracked corn, mealworms,
millet, and treats (like nut & seed logs, specialty suet blocks, etc). I
even bought some blackberries the other day on sale and have the in the freezer
now. I’ll get them out later when food is really scarce.

If you buy
store bought mixes, avoid the ones that say “milo” especially if milo is listed
as the first or second ingredient… Those are usually the cheaper brands with
lots of “filler” aka “milo”… And be sure to read what the mixes include, it’s
important to know that whatever is listed first means the bag contains the most
of that particular item.

Millet is
fine to feed. I just bought a bag of millet at my local feed store.

I buy in
bulk and wait for sales. My local feed store sells everything I need, but
sometimes I order mixes and peanuts online because it’s cheaper. My favorite
online stores are DrsFoster&Smith and FleetFarm.com

Here’s what I’m
currently using in my feeders-

Tube feeders
contain 90% BOSS with 10% premium nut mix

Thistle tube feeder - 100% thistle (birds go crazy at this feeder)

Hopper style
feeder – one contains only safflower (I wanted to know if they would eat it,
and they are). Another hopper contains 90% BOSS with cracked corn and nuts
mixed in.

(My fav
feeder) – Droll Yankees - Dorothy’s Cardinal Bird Feeder – http://drollyankees.com/product/dorothys-cardinal-bird-feeder/

(Found it on
sale at Walmart for $25) it’s an open/fly thru style feeder – and every morning
I put out my premium mix in this.

I have two
suet feeders..

I have a
seed log feeder and I just put out a treat called “nutsie”

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/pine-tree-farms-nutsie-classic-seed-log-40-oz-/0000000214011

I also have
a mini open feeder that contains 100% thistle

I have a
couple ground feeders too with stuff for the doves and ground feeders.

My husband says I've gone nuts with the birds... hahaha But I remind him, he was the one who told me years ago that "once you start feeding them, you can't stop" hahaha so I tell him I can't stop since he told me that :)

Those are just the things I wanted to know. Thank you very much, mrsshayne!

Let us know the results! And don't be discouraged if you buy something and don't have much luck. It's happened to me. Some things are just hit and miss.. And other things you try the birds will gobble up in no time :)

Helpful to me, too. Thanks Pat & Mrsshayne!

Pat,

If you would like to attract a lot of cardinals,try a mix that is high in safflower seed or better yet, fill a separate feeder with straight safflower seed (a white seed if you are looking at a mix). You will get many cardinals and the good part about safflower seed is squirrels are not real fond of it. A good web page to visit for anything related to attracting birds to your backyard as well as bird feeding is: http://backyardbirdwatcher.com/askthebirdman.html

Sunflower chips (No shells), Saffower seed, is very clean and will save you money in the long run used in the right squirrel proof feeder. You will also have so much less waste under your feeder because the birds will eat it all and NO shells. Will attract many colorful birds. Would recommend a Squirrel Buster feeder with cardinal ring so cardinals have a platform of some sort to sit on. Here is a link to my absolute favorite squirrel proof bird feeder: http://bit.ly/1Owv54p

Lots of good information above! I want to feed pretty much anything hungry that comes to my yard so I have three tube feeders with a good quality seed mix that almost everything likes and nyjer mesh feeder(s) for the goldfinches mostly and for Pine Siskins when they occasionally show up. I have one safflower hopper feeder which is the only thing the squirrels don't like. I enjoy having one feeder squirrel-free. Chipmunks like safflower but they don't eat all that much.

I've never used the sunflower seed without shells - the price scares me. It could be cost-effective when you consider the volume with and without shells, but the perception of the hit to the wallet when I stock up is important.

I spread the same seed mix on the ground for the ground feeders such as native sparrows that may not use the tube feeders . This includes turkeys (which also love nyjer). Suet cages attract woodpeckers and nuthatches (and crows). I don't like handling really greasy suet cakes so I usually get the peanut dough types which are much less messy and easily pop out of the plastic container. Some people render beef suet and make their own suet cakes but I'm not willing to do that - tried it once.

In an attempt to lure the squirrels and Blue Jays away from the other feeders, I throw peanuts, both in the shell and shelled, on the ground away from the other areas. It works for a little while and the titmice enjoy the peanuts too.

I have hummingbird and oriole/catbird feeders up in the summer but they come down when those birds head south. I do have winterberries and hollies and rose hips in the yard so there is fruit available in the winter.

In the winter I throw nyjer on the ground in a different area for winter visitors like juncoes and redpolls - a lot of sparrow relatives appreciate nyjer too. The turkeys, of course, will dominate here but they don't stay around all day.

Claire

Thanks so very much to all of you, I am working on a final (right) plan. Thanks for your time and for sharing your experience.