Variety is the most important consideration when setting up a new bird feeding area around your house.  Since different bird species have different feeding preferences, the best way to attract a variety of species is to place several different feeders around your yard.  You can provide millet and cracked corn on the ground or in tray feeders near ground level for sparrows, doves and quail; sunflower seeds are highly preferred by most songbirds and can be offered at tabletop level or higher to attract chickadees, cardinals, grosbeaks, titmice and house finches; thistle feeders can be placed at the same level predominately for American goldfinches; and suet feeders on tree trunks or hanging from tree limbs for woodpeckers, chickadees, creepers and nuthatches.

Feeders designed to exclude certain birds because of size, weight or behavior can help make your more expensive grain available only to preferred species.  Tube feeders that are surrounded by a wire cage will keep larger birds like jays away from your sunflower seed.  A tube feeder without a tray below it will restrict access to only small birds and if you remove the perches you’ve restricted the feeder to only those birds that can cling like finches, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and woodpeckers.  If starlings or jays are a problem at your suet feeder, discourage them by using a suet feeder with access only from the bottom.  Starlings and jays are reluctant to perch upside down but your preferred species are not.

Separate feeders for different kinds of seed will also reduce competition at feeders and avoid unnecessary waste.  Watch a feeder filled with a seed mix and you’ll see the birds methodically drop or kick out most of the seeds to get to their favorite, sunflower seed.  The most effective way to attract the largest variety of birds to your yard is to put out specific feeders for each food.  These would include:

• A starling-resistant suet feeder
• A caged tube feeder for sunflower
• A bluebird feeder for meal worms
• A wire mesh cage feeder for peanuts
• A nectar feeder
• A tube feeder for thistle
• A stationary or tray fruit feeder
• A house or platform feeder for millet

   
When selecting feeder locations, consider visibility from your home, distance from shrubs and proximity to good perches.  If at all possible choose southern exposures to give the birds a warmer, more protected area to congregate out of the wind.  Try to locate feeders within 20 feet of nearby shrubs or thicket cover.  This gives birds a place to escape if hawks or cats attack.  Avoid placing feeders over shrubs however as this may give cats a hiding place for stalking birds.

Now that we have discussed different types of feeders, let’s talk about what kind of seed is preferred by which species of bird.  As previously stated, sunflower seeds are the favorite of chickadees, evening grosbeaks, tufted and plain titmice, nuthatches, blue jays, house finches, purple finches, woodpeckers and cardinals.  As long as sunflower seed is available, these birds won’t eat much else at feeders.  The attraction is probably due to the fact that they have higher proportions of fat and protein than other common grains.  For these reasons it is best to offer pure sunflower seed in separate feeders to prevent these birds from digging through and wasting mixed seed to get to the sunflower seed.

Proso millet comes in two varieties, white and red.  Although both types are readily eaten, most species prefer white proso millet.    Here is a list of the species that prefer millet: tree sparrow, song sparrow, brown-headed cowbird, dark-eyed junco, house sparrow, mourning dove, and white-throated sparrow.

Nyjer seed, also known as thistle is another high fat, high protein food.  It is an excellent though very expensive food for finches.  American goldfinches love nyjer seed as do the purple finch, house finch, redpoll, pine siskin, chickadee, mourning dove, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, and dark-eyed junco.  Special nyjer feeders with tiny holes help reduce spillage and competition from non-finches whose beaks are too large to remove seeds from the tiny holes.  These feeders are superior to the mesh bag feeders that produce substantial amounts of seed spillage.

By utilizing a variety of feeders with a variety of feeds, you will have a diverse community of birds to enjoy in your own backyard.