eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Hi again,

Perhaps the most common concern I hear from folks regarding “feeding the birds” has to do with buying the appropriate feed mix. And there are as many expert opinions on this subject as there are experts... Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret – there is no one single “appropriate feed mix”. You're going to have to become the expert for your own backyard... Here are the factors that are involved:

• The types of birds that normally eat at your feeders... For the wife and I, we see a lot of blue jays. And blue jays tend to be very picky birds who habitually scatter the “undesirable” seed all over the ground. (Thankfully, other birds such as red winged black birds aren't nearly so fussy!)
• How many "ground grazers" you have... (We have a bunch of mourning doves and grackles.)
• When you feed the birds... Different species feed at different times.
• Current weather/seasonal conditions... As the weather grows colder, you'll need to offer more fat in the birds' diet.
• What’s the typical number of days between rain storms for your region... (If excess seed sets on the ground and gets wet, you'll have... well... mush.)

When all is said and done, you're going to need to balance the demands of the "feeder eaters" with that of the "ground grazers"... For fun, here are a few of our "non-bird ground munchers".





Suz and I keep these guys in mind too when we're varying/mixing our feed.

And we're still hoping to get a visit from some of the local deer... If that happens, expect to see a few posts with deer pictures in them!

(I warned you that "feeding the birds" wasn't a passive hobby!)

See you by the feeder,

Alan