Used to fill my feeder with cheap seed mix, but now I buy straight black oil sunflower

For years I grabbed whatever $10 bag at the grocery store had the most colorful picture on it. Then last winter I noticed half the seed was getting kicked out and wasted by the squirrels. A guy at the local bird store told me black oil sunflower has the best meat-to-shell ratio and most birds love it. Now I pay $18 for a 20lb bag and my feeder actually gets emptied in 3 days instead of 2 weeks. Has anyone else switched and seen a difference in what birds show up?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_thomas420d ago

Have you actually counted though if it's costing you more per bird that shows up? I did the math on that once and the cheap mix was still way cheaper per visit even with the waste.

victor_carter5120d ago

That's a good point. I never actually counted per-visit costs, but anecdotally I did notice the cheap mix attracted mostly house sparrows and pigeons. Black oil sunflower brought in cardinals, chickadees, and finches I never saw before. So even if it costs a bit more per bird, the variety is way better. Have you tracked your per-visit cost on the cheap mix for a full year to account for seasonal changes?

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