Find out what Project FeederWatch is, its history, and more
Find out how you FeederWatch, when you can FeederWatch, and what you'll need to do to get started
Review these instructions carefully before you count and enter data
Find out about types of feeders and types of foods, and where to place your feeder
Feeding Birds FAQs
Explore the winter distribution, food, and feeder preferences of common feeder birds.
Find out about color and plumage variations, bald heads, and deformed bills
Unusual Birds Gallery
Find out about bird disease and identifying the signs of bird disease
Sick Birds Gallery
Find out how to identify birds and download identification tools
Learn how to help birds as they seek out food sources, nesting habitat, protection, and more
Find educational resources for teachers, group leaders, and families
Find an article archive packed with lots of great bird study information
Learn about house finch eye disease
Review content from current and past BirdSpotter photo contests
Keep up to date with the latest FeederWatch happenings
These are exemplary FeederWatchers!
Send us your photos! Show us your count site, your birds, or you watching your site with loved ones!
Visit our live FeederWatch feedercams!
Cornell Lab of Ornithology feeders
Ontario (winter only)
See what birds occur the most by region
Explore species by state/province
See where FeederWatchers are
Graphs of regional population trends and distributions
Explore papers that have used FeederWatch data
Lab scientists analyze the data submitted by FeederWatch participants.
See birds well outside their winter range submitted to Project FeederWatch.
Start here for data entry and personal data review and exploration
Keep live track of your counts using the FeederWatch mobile app
Bob Vuxinic
Crossville, TN, USA
Sparrows & Cardinals
Tag:
Chipping Sparrow on a tray feeder
What do your Chipping Sparrows eat? Mine only seem to eat millet.
Sorry, I meant mine seem to only eat millet.
White millet is pretty much the food of choice. This one only came up to the tray feeder because there was too much foraging competition on the ground, and I hadn’t yet refilled my millet tube feeder.
I use the “cheapest birdseed known to man” (Milo, sunflower, millet, wheat, corn) and mix it with safflower and sunflower. I also have suet, peanut butter, and mealworm suet nuggets. I get about 12 to 20 species per day. Including unlikely birds like mockingbirds, (The Peep, Magolia, and The Adversary) Yellow-rumped Warblers, Pine Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Lincoln’s Sparrow, and others.
The problem with the “cheapest birdseed known to man” is that you are paying for lots of feed that most birds don’t eat, like red and gold millet and flax which the sellers use as filler to increase the weight. You should check out this site put out by the Cornell Lab: A quick guide to seed types:: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/types-of-bird-seed-a-quick-guide/#milo
By the way, I am not on Cornell’s staff, but they are the best source for bird info.
It has milo, millet, cracked corn, and sunflower. I mix in safflower and sunflower and get around 12 species to the feeder per day. The birds really love it. Even finches.
I buy 20 lbs for $10
I have lots of doves. My feeders are emptied every day.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.