Striped sunflower seeds are an essential feeding choice for larger songbirds such as cardinals, jays and woodpeckers. Their thinner shells allow birds to open them more efficiently – saving energy!
Feed these seeds using tube feeders with wide-mouthed openings, hopper feeders or open tray and platform feeders. You could even combine them with black oil sunflower seeds to offer more variety to wild birds.
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Cost
Bird food comes in various forms, with striped sunflower seeds being one of the cheapest options available. You can purchase bulk amounts both locally at farmer markets and online stores. When purchasing them be sure to select quality product without debris and moisture build-up and monitor levels regularly to ensure birds always have food available to them.
Sparrows and other small birds with beaks that can break open tough shells love feeding on this type of seed, which contains proteins and essential nutrients that birds need for healthy development and growth.
Your best bet for providing your backyard birds with striped sunflower seeds is to use a feeder designed for their species of choice. Make sure it’s located somewhere where birds can easily access its contents while remaining safe from harsh weather and predators.
Attracts Larger Birds
Striped sunflower seeds with thicker shells are more difficult for House Sparrows and blackbirds to open, making them more appealing to larger birds such as cardinals and woodpeckers. Furthermore, their higher oil content attracts birds that require extra energy during migrations or harsh winter weather conditions.
Striped sunflower seeds are often combined with other seeds in feeders to create a more nutritional and diverse blend. Other popular seeds include hulled black oil sunflower seeds (commonly referred to as “sunflower hearts”), nyjer and safflower; goldfinches, redpolls and pine siskins love the small nyjer seeds while Northern Cardinals, Doves and Purple Finches prefer safflower.
Hulled black oil sunflower seeds are a fantastic choice for those who don’t wish to deal with an abundance of shells under their feeders, or who have limited space as they take up less room than whole seeds. Not to mention how popular they are among birds such as chickadees, wrens, dark-eyed juncos, and nuthatches!
Deters Nuisance Birds
Feeding wild birds striped sunflower seeds may help deter nuisance blackbirds, grackles, and sparrows, since their thick shells make it harder for these larger seed eaters to crack open. If this becomes an issue in your backyard, try switching over to other forms of bird food with harder shells such as safflower or peanuts (in their shell), both of which make opening easier for blackbirds than sunflower.
One alternative to offering sunflower hearts that have had their shells removed, such as those designed for small birds like chickadees, titmice and nuthatches, would be providing hulled sunflower hearts containing smaller sunflower seeds that have had their shells removed to make consumption easier for these small birds. Or you could hang manufactured suet cakes made up of sunflower seeds mixed with other foods in a wire cage to lure woodpeckers; suet is also an effective energy booster during long migratory journeys for wild birds such as blackbirds, doves, pigeons pigeons love this food source!
Deters Raccoons and Squirrels
Striped sunflower seeds are harder for unwanted birds like House Sparrows, grackles and starlings to open than their counterparts, thus deterring them from raiding your feeder. Yet their thicker shells remain attractive to cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers and grosbeaks who could still come flocking.
Like its black oil counterpart, the striped sunflower seed provides birds with energy and strength by offering up proteins and fats rich in proteins and fats, as well as vitamins B and E, calcium, iron and potassium – providing energy and strength for everyday tasks.
If your feeder offers both striped and black oil sunflower seeds, it’s wise to ensure the striped variety is consumed first; otherwise, birds might switch over to eating only black oil variety due to its thinner shell and easier-for-smaller birds to open nature – particularly Northern Cardinals, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks with long beaks (such as evening grosbeaks), as well as white proso millet which white-throated, Fox and Chipping sparrows love eating white proso millet.
