Bird Foods

With a little planning, your landscape can include some favorite foods for our feathered friends.

Sunflower and safflower seeds are a big favorite for many birds. Offer them in traditional tube-style feeders to attract small birds like chickadees, titmice, and finches, or use a hopper-style feeder for larger birds like blue jays and grosbeaks.

You can also add a suet feeder to help feed woodpeckers, nuthatches, and wrens.

Many birds feed on the berries and fruits of native plants like holly, American beautyberry, and red mulberry, so try planting a few of these.

To keep hummingbirds happy, also include nectar-producing plants like firebush and shrimp plant.

UF/IFAS Publications

• Attracting Backyard Birds: Bird Feeder Selection

Also on Gardening in a Minute

• Bird Feeders
• Gardening for Birds

Other Sites

• Choosing Bird Seed--All About Birds
• Feeding Birds: Selecting Seeds--Audubon Society