I usually buy a 40 lb. bag of wild bird seed & 20 lb. bag of sunflower seeds from Lowe's & mix together. I buy the brand with the best price. I also buy different seeds in smaller bags of nuts & fruits; berries & fruits; shelled sunflower & safflower seeds, thistle seeds. I get them at Walmart or Lowe's. I will watch for sales at different garden centers that sell a variety of different types of bird seed by Pennington, Kaytee among others.

Our New England winters are long & cold so buying the large bags of seed are more economical. With the warmer weather here, birds are able to get their food elsewhere & not just from the feeders. So don't mind picking up some of the pricier seed to mix in.

Here's what I've found-the cheaper bird seed has a lot of corn in it, as filler. Many birds & squirrels eat corn & all need our help during the winter. Also many of the larger (more generic) bags of sunflower seeds have empty shells with small sticks in them taking up space. However with lots of birds all winter & refilling feeders frequently, it's okay for keeping the prices down. Now I'm mixing more of the better seed with the other kind. By the end of June, beginning of July the nesting has just about stopped & the fledglings are now on their own. Birds won't be using the feeders much with all the food readily available from natural sources.

I've already removed all my suet feeders except for one large one for the woodpeckers. I have a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers & their fledglings eat the suet too. This is the first time I've had a pair of northern flickers & they come almost daily to the suet.

It sounds like you're just getting into feeding birds. I suggest you use a basic mixed bird seed in your feeder. Birds will come especially in the winter. If you want to, pick up a smaller bag of another type of seed & mix it together. Birds can take awhile to come to new feeders. So if there's not much action, don't worry they'll eventually arrive. It has nothing to do with the seed.

I'm so glad you're getting into backyard birding. With bird's natural environment dwindling due to developers they need our help more than ever. Many numbers of birds have diminished because of that & birders are hugely helping to keep bird species from going extinct. It's an unfortunate reality going on internationally. By providing shelter with bird houses, planting trees & shrubs & having biird feeders we're really helping our feathered friends survive.

Whenever I go outside, some chickadees & titmouse immediately show up & fly right by my face landing on branches so close I could touch them. Now the downy woodpeckers stay about 4' away instead of flying away. I love they've come to know me feeling safe & hang around. Probably told you way more than you needed to know! Need any more info, please feel free & let me know. It's exciting more & more people everywhere are getting involved & helping birds in some way bringing personal rewards.

dogmom5, you've been a tremendous help. Thank you very much. After a couple years of trial and error, I agree with what you are saying about everything. The importance of fresh water is another biggie.

Pat

Thanks.

dogmom5, hope you're still out there. I love your home page.

this is the first year I'm feeding year around and I'm finding that the "mixes" are attracting too many black birds, doves, and House Sparrows this summer. So, I may switch to BOSS exclusively when my striped sunflower/safflower mix is gone. I don't mind feeding all of them, but they really bully away the ones I want to stay.

I don't feel that way any more. I feed mixes in back yard feeders for any birds that are hungry. I feed BOSS and striped SS in front feeders.