Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Super Sunflower Seeds


Without a doubt, the most popular seed at our bird feeders is black oil sunflower seeds. While I am in the process of refilling the feeders, scratchy-voiced Tufted Titmice, energetic Red-breasted Nuthatches and brilliant red Northern Cardinals seem to magically appear, eager for a snack of this tasty treat.

Black oil sunflower seeds are especially appealing because they are rich in oil and fat content. The meaty morsels offer much needed calories and nutrition for birds during the cold winter months. As well as supplying energy, black oil sunflower seeds have a high ratio of nutmeat to shell and are packed with essential protein. These sought after tidbits have very thin shells that can be easily broken by most seed eating birds.

During the winter season, we offer black-oil sunflower seeds at the feeders on our country property (in northwest Indiana) and at our home in the big city of Chicago. A steady stream of birds delight in the seeds. We see the above mentioned birds daily, as well as Blue Jays, House Finches, Pine Siskins, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Wild Turkeys.

To enhance your backyard bird watching experience during the winter months, be sure to place out a bird feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds. This practice is twofold, for the benefit of the area birds and for your own viewing pleasure.


Female Northern Cardinal


Blue Jay


Tufted Titmouse


White-breasted Nuthatch


House Finches


Red-bellied Woodpecker


American Goldfinch


Red-breasted Nuthatch


Northern Cardinal


Dark-eyed Junco


Black-capped Chickadee


Red-headed Woodpecker


Pine Siskin


Dark-eyed Junco and Northern Cardinal


Sunflower seed bandit ~ Red Squirrel


Besides creating and writing posts for my own blog, Nature's Splendor, I am also a monthly contributor to the Birding is Fun! blog. The above post was originally written for the later in January of 2013.


41 comments:

stiefbeen said...

er is animo genoeg,wat een hoop soorten komen er bij je in de tuin het is geweldig mooi om dit te zien.

JRandSue said...

Simply amazing,every Image show crisp sharpness,superb colouring.
But, above all,these are photography at It's very best.
John.

Lasse said...

Lovely to see your "homebirds". Not exactly the same as we have over here, but one could see the similarity. I have the same experiance with the sunflower seeds. Lovely photos !

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful beautiful beautiful birds. And you shot them.

Bill said...

I think black oil sunflower seeds and a suet cake will have you covered for most bird species. Beautiful photos!

KaHolly said...

Delightful pics.

TexWisGirl said...

grinning all the way through this post. each photo just wonderful and each subject so cute! :)

Ela said...

Wonderful collection of pictures
Lovely birds and squirrel
Greetings

Gillian Olson said...

Those sunflower seeds are attracting such a variety of beautiful birds, great shots,

RH said...

I've noticed the same thing - birds at my feeder usually won't even touch other seeds!
Great photos by the way :)

eileeninmd said...

Gorgeous shots of the all your feeder birds. My birds love the BOSS too! Have a happy week!

Ruth Hiebert said...

You have amazing pictures here. I too feed the black oil sunflower seeds year round.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Julie,
Oh, you went at great length for explaining all the additional benefits of these black oil sunflower seeds! We use them also very generous for keeping the almost exact species shown here by you, with excellent photos, alive during the harsh foraging times of winter.
And we too have some happy sunflower seed bandits at our home! Loved your writing style; very informative and captivating!
Hugs to you and stay warm and cozy yourself during this harsh winter!
Mariette

Guy said...

Hi Julie

What great photos, yes the black oil sunflower seeds are the only seeds I put out, even the finches eat them and anything else I put out tends to get wasted. I put out peanuts for the jays which mainly ends up in squirrels and suet for the flickers. But sunflower seeds are a hit with everyone.

All the best
Guy

Jim Braswell said...

Awesome photos of an awesome assortment of birds, Julie!

Tinie said...

What a beautiful little birds do you get for the lens Julie.
And what a beautiful pictures you made, this is enjoyment.


Groetjes Tinie

Gordon said...

My my, what a fantastic collection of birds. Two different Nuthatches in one garden, thats amazing, all great shots.
All the best Gordon.

Unknown said...

Splendid array!!!

Greg Gard said...

Beautiful photographs!

Dan said...

Each photo is worthy of a spot in any field guide that exists.

Simply beautiful, Julie!

Marco Luijken said...

Hey Julie,
This is enjoy!! What a lovely birds.
Great how you've photographed them. They are very special and have beautiful colors. That northern cardinal is really amazing with his red colors. But they can eat very much, I see..hihi..!!
The last shot of the squirrel is so cute...Wonderful!!

Best regards,
Marco

Debbie said...

What a great post staring some of my favorites!! I see all of these at my feeders except the woodpecker, I don't get that one!!

The cardinal snaps were my favorites!!

John's Island said...

Hi Julie, Once again you have shared a beautiful set of photos, each one a little treasure in itself. What a great idea to put out the black oil sunflower seeds as a way to entice the little birds to stay just long enough for you to capture a perfect image. My favorite is the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Isn't it interesting the difference between the red-bellied and the red-headed? Like I've said before, your photos should be used in a field guide. Somewhat related to that, it occurs to me that one reason I find Nature's Splendor to be such an excellent blog is the way you give us the story behind the pictures. I really appreciate that. Julie, as always, thank you for sharing, and also, thank you for your kind comments on my blog. I am lucky to have you following John's Island. Best regards to you and your family, John

MoiCLouLou said...

Hi Julie,
I really enjoyed your beautiful pictures! You have a great variety of birds. You are lucky to see both the Red-bellied woodpecker and the Red-headed Woodpecker, they are both gorgeous. I didn't see any Pine Siskins this winter and no House finches... I did see all the other birds and the red squirrel too. :)
I hope you are having a nice winter, we sure have snow here and lots of cold temperature.
Have a lovely week,
Louise

José Ramón said...

Julie Fantastic Happy Week Greetings to reporting

http://creatividadeimaginacinfotosdejosramn.blogspot.com.es/

Anonymous said...

another beautiful set of crisp clear photos! I'm a bit jealous of your red-headed woodpecker :-)

Carol O'Casey said...

Amazing photos, Julie. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Es magnifico tu blog, cuanta belleza natural, me quedo aquí con tu permiso.

Kathie Brown said...

These are wonderful pictures Julie! I love my backyard birds! How nice to have a Red--headed woodpecker among them! I was thrilled to see one recently here in FL!

Weekend Cowgirl said...

We put down bags and bags of sunflower seeds at the farm in winter for birds. They love them! Enjoying your photos!

Tammy said...

Hi Julie, your images are always so delightful to view each filled with such beauty! The Red-headed woodpecker is one my favorite shots. I have yet to see one! Take care!

forgetmenot said...

Julie, I feel like I am turning the pages of an Audubon Magazine when I scroll through your blog. Such beautiful photos of so many fascinating birds. Once again, an amazing job!!!! Hope all is well with you, and you have moved into the home you and your husband were building (what a huge undertaking). I do have one criticism--you just don't post often enough!!!! Everyone would love to see more of your work, I am sure. Thanks, too, for all the nice comments you always leave on my blog. Take care. Mickie :)

Warren Jones said...

Julie, had a look today and you have the same birds we have in our feeders here in snowy NH! Looks real good my friend.

Debbie said...

I was happy to see you today, and hoped for an update!! Yours are always so special, thank you for your kind comment today!!

Gillian Olson said...

A beautiful array of guests are enjoying those sunflowers,

Manuel Luis said...

Magnifico! Excelentes imagens do nosso mundo.
Saúde, bj.

Didier 85 said...

Une très belle série d'oiseaux... et un écureuil !
Belle journée

Geraldo Maia said...

Have a Happy Easter!

Ela said...

Julie, I wish you a happy Easter !

Derek & Chris Thomas said...

As usual, some great images!

Metis Birding said...

Great shots! The tree stump is a beautiful setting for photographing birds, rather than at a feeder. I had sunflowers pop up all over my yard this year-- all straight out of my feeder!