As a backyard birder, there are various locations online where you can purchase wild birdseed. These include stores, seed hulling companies and wholesalers.
Many online retailers provide more variety and better prices on bulk offerings of birdseed than can be found locally, plus may waive delivery fees or provide loyalty club members discounts.
Contents
Quality
When purchasing wild bird seed online, it is essential that the quality is of excellent standard to ensure the birds that visit your garden receive nutritious meals that contain all of the essential vitamins and minerals for overall good health and happiness.
The top wild bird seeds contain high levels of proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients – giving birds plenty of energy to fly about, sing their songs from trees, and enjoy playful interactions with other wild friends.
Sunflower seeds are an irresistibly tasty treat for numerous species of birds, from chickadees and titmice to jays, finches, woodpeckers, sparrows and grosbeaks – they love them!
Variety
Many birders like to provide their bird feeders with a selection of seeds. This may include black oil sunflower seed, hulled sunflower seeds, nyjer or thistle seed, shelled peanuts, millet and safflower.
Wild birds require a diet rich in proteins, fats and carbohydrates in order to thrive, so providing your birds with quality seeds helps guarantee they get all of the nutrition they require for healthful living.
Some cheaper mixes contain higher proportions of filler seeds that birds tend to ignore and discard, leading to an increase in cowbirds, starlings, grackles and other pest birds.
Hulled sunflower seeds make an excellent winter food source for songbirds. A staple in most seed mixes, they can be offered on open platforms, dishes or hopper feeders for Finches, Titmice, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Buntings and other songbirds to feed upon these tiny kernels.
Price
Wild bird seed prices have skyrocketed in recent years as retailers struggled to meet rising demand. Pandemic-charged freight costs and coronavirus outbreaks, which caused bird feeders to be shut off temporarily, combined to drive up costs significantly for feeding birds.
Saving money on bird food requires buying it in bulk whenever possible, although this may incur an initial expenditure but will save money over time.
Keep in mind that not all bird food is created equal, especially cheaper mixes on the market that contain fillers that birds don’t enjoy or even eat.
Example of deficiencies include poor nutrition that may result in “angel wing syndrome” in chickadees and other species, along with being highly messy which attracts squirrels and other pests.
Shipping
Wild bird seed can be purchased online from retailers offering lower shipping costs than local stores. Discounts may depend on your store of choice and may change season by season or even store by store.
Most online bird seed retailers ship via UPS Regular Ground service, which takes 1-3 days and offers much lower shipping costs than buying in store. When purchasing multiple pounds at once, shipping can become significantly more economical.
Purchase bulk bird seed in bags of 40 lbs or more to save on shipping, which often works out much cheaper than individual bags; you could also combine orders with other local birders to save even more!
Some wild bird seed distributors collaborate with farmers and grower co-ops to offer you fresh, high-quality wild bird seeds. Rather than selling cheap old seed sitting around in warehouses that has lost most of its nutritional value and contains filler seeds most local birds won’t eat, these distributors focus on providing customers with nutritious wild bird seeds they will actually eat!
