Feeding Birds with Nyjer Seed and Black Sunflower Seed
Mar 2nd, 2008 by Birdy Trish
As you can see from the photo below black sunflower seed and nyjer seed are very similar.
But nyjer seed is so much smaller than black sunflower seeds.
I’ve found it hard to feed nyjer seed to birds - if I put it on a birdtable it blows away with the slightest breeze.
I put it in a very small feeder but none of the birds seemed to catch on.
Now I mix sunflower seed and niger seed together and pour some melted lard over over the mixture. As the lard hardens it binds the seeds together making them heavy. I spoon the mix onto the birdtable. It’s not a fat ball, just seeds held together with solidified fat.
The mixture works really well, especially on windy days. It’s also got the added benefit that birds get extra fat in their diet.
When feeding birds we have to forget what we humans like - which is low fat. Birds need just the opposite to survive. Birds need high fat content food to survive.
I’m trying feeding nyjer seed because it’s
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A real delicacy for many birds
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Loved by siskins, finches and many other small songbirds.
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Can be mixed with black sunflower and makes a good comination.
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Squirrels and larger birds find Nyjer unattractive. For this reason Nyjer is attractive to me as I have problems with Squirrels and larger birds..
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Nyjer is a seed of the Sunflower familly (it’s not a thistle). An absolute must for attracting Goldfinches into your garden.
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Other birds such as Siskin, Greenfinch and Sparrow will also like Nyjer
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High in calories and oil content, .
Take a minute to read about Black Sunflower Seeds
If you have any questions about feeding birds let me know.
Wu long tea…
Thanks for the post. I couldnt agree with you more….
its fall and I wonder if the birds store sunflower seeds for winter. My feeder has always had sunflower seed and the chickadees, nuthatchers and finches are steady. Will it confuse them or hinder winter feeding if change to nyger seed?
Hi, Believe it or not this is a tricky question!
Whenever I put a different kind of bird food into a bird feeder the bird food is never eaten. when I put the original bird food back the feeder is soon eaten and emptied. Birds do rely on the food we put out to survive.
so birds do rely on the bird food we put out. With winter coming I think it will confuse them if another type of bird food is in the feeder.
Could you try changing the bird food in summer when there is more food about for them?
Another idea - could you buy a new small feeder and put the nyjer seed in that. Have two feeders side by side. Or put a little food in a dish on the ground?
It seems a shame if you are having a steady stream of birds to change the food and upset them. Maybe I am biased because I never got any birds at my nyjer feeder. I still pour fat over bird food which includes njyer seed and put it on the bird table
I put different food on the bird table and that seems to go. I don’t know why different food on the bird table goes, but different food in bird feeders does not.
I know in England Coal Tits hoard food. They take the food, hide their food away, sometimes on the ground, sometimes in a leafy tree. They carry off nuts and store them in hiding places. Nuts are nutritious and store well. They also collect and store insects for a time when there is no food. The bird remembers the exact location.
I know not every bird stores food. so then again the answer will be different depending on what bird we are chatting about. That’s why birds are so interesting isn’t it.
By the way, good to hear from you. You must live in America. Can I ask which area? Hope this answer helps. Let me know how you get on. Best. Trisha.