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I don’t really want to know how much I spend on bird seed each year. It’s an expensive hobby, for sure, but I guess it could be worse. If my hobby was skiing, a week at Aspen and a stay in a mountain chalet would buy a whole lot of birdseed. But I enjoy feeding and watching birds in my yard and they don’t go hungry.
Recently, I have noticed in my bowl feeders that there are usually sunflower seeds remaining. Sunflower seed is considered by many to be the ultimate bird seed, but all birds don’t eat sunflower seeds. So, I am now blending my birdseed to attract the maximum number of birds. I have been buying Premium Nut and Berry Wild Bird Food from Wal-Mart. It contains sunflower kernels, peanuts, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, pistachios, hulled pumpkin seeds, dried raisins, and dried cranberries, plus some vitamin and mineral supplements. It attracts most all songbirds, plus woodpeckers, cardinals, finches, titmice, jays, grosbeaks, buntings and chickadees and costs $13.54 for 5-lbs. I also buy the Supreme Blend bird seed from Sam’s Club (a super buy at about $30 for 40 pounds). This seed has mostly sunflower seed along with some peanuts, millet, safflowers, and raisins. Finally, I also buy pure sunflower hearts or kernels to complete my blend. I use about 50% Supreme Blend with 25% sunflower hearts and 25% Nut and Berry mix. I mix all this in a 1-gallon container and add about 2 T of Cole’s Flaming Hot Squirrel Seed Sauce. This assures that ALL the seed is eaten by birds and none of it goes to the squirrels. It also eliminates the need for baffles and other squirrel prevention measures. It’s expensive enough feeding birds, much less squirrels.
This blend appeals to every single bird in my yard and every bit gets eaten. Try some of the Nut and Berry blend and mix it with your favorite seeds, fellow birders. They love it.