One of the most common questions we hear at the Los Gatos Birdwatcher is: “Does bird seed quality really matter?”
The short answer is yes. Over these past 30 years, many customers share a familiar story with us…a well-meaning spouse brought home a less expensive bag of bird seed from a big box store. The price looked good, but once the seed was put out, the birds mostly ignored it and much of it ended up scattered beneath the feeder. So what makes one bag of bird seed more attractive to birds than another?
Just as people prefer fresh food, wild birds do too. Bird seed naturally loses moisture over time. As seed ages, it becomes less appealing and less nutritious for birds. A bag that has been stored for months before reaching the shelf may not offer the same quality as freshly packaged seed. Our store’s goal is to sell through our seed inventory every week.
Roughly 10,000 pounds of seed arrives weekly in 20 lb. compostable paper bags from California-based Volkman Pet Products, allowing us to offer seed that hasn’t spent months sitting in warehouses or distribution centers. And when the seed bag is empty, you can toss them into your compost or yard clipping bins. Just remove the plastic handle. We also package our 5 lb. bags of seed in paper bags that we ask our customers to return to us when empty so we can use them again.
What’s Really Inside that Compostable Seed Bag?
[Photo: 20 lb. empty bag of seed]
An important difference comes down to ingredients. Many inexpensive bird seed blends contain large amounts of “filler” grains. These ingredients add weight to the bag, but they often aren’t favored by the songbirds most people hope to attract. An added bonus
One of the most common fillers is milo, a reddish grain frequently found in economy bird seed mixes. While pigeons, doves, and some livestock may eat milo, many backyard songbirds simply toss it aside while searching for preferred foods. Many other low-cost mixes contain excessive amounts of cracked corn, empty seed hulls, or grit and debris. While some ground-feeding birds and mammals may consume corn, song birds prefer higher-quality ingredients such as sunflower, safflower, and millet. The seed your birds do not eat, ends up as waste on the ground, and fewer birds at the feeder.
Choosing Seed for Local Birds
Different birds have different dietary preferences. Goldfinches prefer nyjer seed. Practically everyone enjoys sunflower seed including chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches. Doves enjoy millet. Woodpeckers often favor peanuts and suet. That’s why quality bird seed blends are formulated with specific species in mind. Rather than filling a bag with inexpensive ingredients, premium mixes focus on seeds birds actively seek out.
More Value in Every Bag
When birds eat more of the seed and less is discarded onto the ground, you’re getting more feeding power from every pound. Less waste also means fewer cleanup issues beneath your feeders. At the Los Gatos Birdwatcher, we’re proud to offer Volkman seed because they contain no filler and are designed specifically for our local wild birds. We’d be happy to help you select the right seed blend for your backyard birds. Come visit us at the store soon.