Better Seed, Better Birds
You can get some kind of "wild bird seed" almost anywhere these days: the hardware store, the pet store, the grocery store. Sometimes they may seem like a bargain, but all too often they are a bad choice for you and your birds. Beware seed mixes that look like the top picture to the right, dominated by red and light-colored round seeds with a few scattered sunflowers. If the ingredient list shows milo, sorghum, wheat, canary seed, significant amounts of corn, or mysterious unspecified "grain products," it probably isn't a good blend.
Instead, look for lots of sunflower, which may come in the familiar black shell (as in the middle picture of our Supreme Blend) or in a hulled form (as in the bottom picture of our No-Mess Blend, our most popular seed mix). White millet, nuts, or safflower are good secondary ingredients. If you want some straight talk on your current birdseed, we're always happy to give you our honest opinion - there are good seed blends out there other than our own.
How else is our seed better? Consider the differences:
Their Seed |
Our Seed
|
|
Dominated by inedible filler grains which waste your money and attract rodents, such as milo, wheat, and mystery "grain products" |
100% edible, no waste of resources or money |
|
Not regionally formulated; contain seeds like striped sunflower and red proso millet which appeal to fewer western species |
Locally optimized, based on the seeds California birds prefer, like black oil sunflower and white millet |
|
Limited choices; often a single, so-called "wild bird blend" which promise all birds, but really is only attractive to a few species. |
Many choices of straight seeds and blends specifically formulated to attract the birds you want |
|
Either small, pricey bags or giant unwieldy bags which are difficult to store and take too long to use up. |
Most seeds offered in 5 lb, 10 lb, or 20 lb bags for your convenience |
|
Irregular and casual distribution with no attention to freshness |
Seed is delivered every week to ensure freshness |
|
Unengaged staff with no knowledge of birds |
Friendly staff who are passionate about birds and can tell you which seeds are best for attracting certain species, which will deter squirrels and other pests, and which will keep your feeder area clean |
Our Seeds and Blends
|
Blends for the Birds You Want: Deluxe: Even millet to sunflower ratio to feed both ground feeding and perching birdsSupreme: A no-millet blend to attract the widest variety of perching birds No-Mess Blend: our best-selling blend with no hulls, no sprouting, and no mess Sunflower Chips: no millet, zero mess; the cleanest seed if you don't want to feed ground-feeding birds Keep it simple: Black Oil Sunflower |
Attract Goldfinches: Attract Nut-Eating Birds Attract Ground-Feeders: Cracked Corn; Millet Don't Attract Squirrels: Safflower Squirrel Specials: Corn on the Cob Wildlife Blend |