
Whole peanuts-in the shell-attract jays and woodpeckers, but not smaller birds. Even cardinals and finches will eat peanuts. Woodpeckers, jays, nuthatches, chickadees, and titmice will readily visit a feeder for this high-energy food. Several major feeder manufacturers produce sturdy, efficient, tube-shaped feeders intended to serve peanuts. Shelled (which means without a shell), dry-roasted, and unsalted peanuts provide protein and fat, so they’re a great fuel for birds in winter. Hulled sunflower seeds, aka sunflower hearts, provide a no-mess option. Striped sunflower is still fine, and evening grosbeaks, cardinals, jays, and other big-billed birds may even prefer it slightly, but black-oil sunflower seed is better at attracting a wide variety of birds to your winter feeder.
BEST WINDOW BIRD FEEDER FOR WINTER CRACK
The outer shell of a black-oil sunflower seed is thinner and easier to crack than that of striped sunflower.īlack-oil sunflower kernels have a higher fat content than striped sunflower seeds, and so make a great winter diet staple. Birds that can’t crack the seeds themselves will scour the ground under the feeders, picking up bits and pieces. Almost any bird that will visit a bird feeder will eat black-oil sunflower. This seed is the hamburger of the bird world. The following ten foods are extremely popular with backyard birds all across North America.

If you are not giving the birds what they want, you might not have many birds. If you are just getting started in bird feeding, or if you are frustrated by a lack of success in attracting winter birds to your feeders, the first thing you need to determine is whether you are feeding the right foods.
