When feeding the birds, the bird food you choose, will have a huge advantage in what birds visit your yard, and back yard for your viewing and hearing spectacle. The food you choose, can choose the birds you want to see, and can result in squirrels visiting your feeder as well.
Bird Food in Your Back Yard Feeder Can Result in Squirrels
If you are building a viewing bird feeder for your back yard, adding the staple bird food of black oil sunflower seeds, is a great way to start. While black sunflower seeds are the best way to feed most birds, squirrels love them too. They will do anything to get to this kind of bird food, and will dump your entire bird feeder on the ground! Squirrels are a team, and will work together to find, open and eat all of your bird food in your feeder if it is black sunflower seeds.
If you want to see songbirds, black sunflower seeds will be great will bird food for cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, juncos, doves, and for gold finches. House finches as well, love black sunflower seeds, and will eat from a pressed seed and suet hanging basket.
Millet and White Milo are Bird Food for Doves and Ground Feeders
If you are searching for a good food for ground feeders like juncos, doves, or morning doves, a millet mix will be your best food for wild birds. Creating a bird-friendly habitat for these birds should start with an easy way to clean and keep the ground fresh for bird food feeders. Often a daily scatter by you will suffice, but a low feeder with a easy platform, may be the better choice, with our busy days. Adding a large plate or plastic tray to any bird feeder, can be the best way to feed these kind of birds.
Canary grass seed, while millet, milo, wheat, red millet, safflower, and oat groats can be a great mix for your kept and wild doves. Squirrels are not too interested in this type of mix, as it is too tart or bitter for them. Most birds in your back yard, will not enjoy this mix as much as a black sunflower seed.
How can I keep Squirrels from My Bird Food?
Aside from buying a yankee droll feeder that flips your squirrels off the feeder, you can always use a caged bird feeder that only allows a small bird to enter the cage. Having a series of different bird feeders is the best way to showcase your bird food, and offer different varieties of height, branches and visibility for your bird feeders.
Another thing to consider, is squirrels are built and ready for competition. So, beginning to offer them challenges, a feeder that is built for their curious and tenacious nature, is a good idea. Build your feeders in your back yard, with some that can be easily infiltrated by your squirrels and bird, and others that have a deterrent from squirrels with a pulley system that hangs the feeder in a difficult place, and that offers a motorized flipper. This feeder will be your bird food dinner plate, and bring great watching for your back yard.