Better Seed, Better Birds

Seed Comparison

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 birds
Supreme: A no-millet blend to attract the widest variety of perching birds

No-Mess Choices:

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:

Nyjer and Finch Blend

Attract Nut-Eating Birds

Peanuts (shelled or in-shell)

Attract Ground-Feeders:

Cracked Corn; Millet

Don't Attract Squirrels: Safflower

Squirrel Specials:

Corn on the Cob

Wildlife Blend