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Seed
When choosing the best bird seed to use, always consider the type of bird feeder as well as the bird species that you would like to attract. Try and avoid using generic wild bird mix available at discount and big box stores. For more perils on the downside of wild bird mix please see this link. The best all-round bird seed to use to attract the greatest variety of small birds ie. chickadees, nuthatches, finches, and grosbeaks is hulled sunflower chips. This single seed has the added benefit of being the cleanest seed available because it has no shells on it. This seed can be used in any style feeder and will achieve great results.
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If you don't mind the black shells on the ground, black oil sunflower (from which hulled sunflower chips is derived) is also very attractive to those same birds at about half the price.
Apart from those mainstay seeds, nyger is very attractive to finches, and is one of the only bird seeds that squirrels have a distaste for. Nyger or Finch Mix (half nyjer, half fine ground sunflower chips) should be used in a proper finch tube feeder that has very tiny tear-dropped shaped openings that keep the seed contained.
Millet is attractive to ground-feeding birds such as sparrows, towhees, junco, and buntings. But make sure you put this seed into an open tray style feeder that accomodates these birds.
In-shell peanuts are the favorite seed of jays of all species. Again, just make sure you place these in a tray style bird feeder.
Shelled peanuts are a favorite of chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. The benefit of this seed is that it is extremely clean and is not particularly attractive to finches (which can be aggressive in large numbers)
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