By Susan Tomlinson

What to do when you see a train wreck about to happen? Keep your mouth shut and let people make their own mistakes, or butt in and look like a pushy, insufferably superior know-it-all?

Just the other day, I was standing in the bird seed aisle of a local store when this same sort of advice pickle came up. I’m busy loading up my cart with a couple of bags of seed, when a couple of women arrive—all a-bustle—and start picking out a bird feeder and the seed to go in it. It was clearly their first feeder. I knew this because I was eavesdropping like any nosey parker worth her salt should. I’m not going to go into all the details here, but it was immediately apparent that they were headed down the Path of Regret.

And I held my tongue. It was painful to me.

I don’t have to do that here, though, because we’re among friends.  I am going to dispense some free advice about feeding backyard birds, and it is a subject about which I do know something because I have been doing it for years. If you have been doing it, too, then you can just skip the advice, because you’ve probably already got all your mistakes behind you and won’t learn anything new here.

If you are just getting started, though, let me save you some grief. This week, I’m going to tell you what kinds of food works best and why. Next week, I’ll cover the same ground with feeders. The advice is ridiculously brief and simple, but it makes a big difference in how successful you will be at this endeavor.

First, forget any bag labeled with the vague words, “Wild Bird Seed Mix.” It probably contains millet, and millet is only good for filler. House sparrows love millet, it is true, but very few other birds will eat it (well, they might if it were the last food on Earth, but that is almost never the case). Since you want to attract birds other than House Sparrows to your feeders (you do), millet is a waste of time and money. You’ll know millet because it is a little, round, yellow pellet and looks like…well, just exactly like what you think bird seed ought to look like. If you are unsure if the mix contains millet, it will probably say so somewhere on the bag.

Instead, the best general seed is not a mix at all. Black oil sunflower seed will attract most backyard birds to your feeder, and a big twenty-pound bag is not going to break the bank. It is not available in your grocery store, but you can find it in most big box hardware stores or pet stores. Or, you can buy the really pure stuff online line from seed purveyors like Duncraft.

Sunflower seed, frankly, is really all you need, since most of the backyard birds will eat it. However, there are other seeds that some species prefer to it. If you want to branch out a little, buy some thistle seed. However, be forewarned that not only will you need a special feeder for it, thistle seed is also more dear than feeding the birds a straight shot of liquid gold. Still, a ten pound bag will only make you flinch a little bit at the checkout line. Is it worth it? Yes. Goldfinches and pine siskins can’t leave it alone, and if I feed birds for any reason it all, it is for the presence of these birds that I do it.

Finally, I always get a nut block for the nuthatches. Not a suet block, as these get hot and messy in our warm Texas climate, even in the winter months. These have a mix of peanuts and seeds, and if there is a red- or white breasted nuthatch in the ‘hood, this is a special little treat, just for them.

And believe it or not, that’s all there is to it. This simple formula is really all you need to get going. You may want to branch out later just for kicks, but the truth is that it isn’t really necessary.

Next Week: Which Feeders to Use and Why.

Image source: author's collection

Susan Leigh Tomlinson blogs regularly at The Bicycle Garden. She has a forthcoming book, How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook (Stackpole).