Wagner's 62051 Nyjer Seed Wild Bird Food, 5-Pound Bag

I specifically bought safflower and nyjer seeds because we are inundated with starlings for the first time. They have always been in my neighborhood by the hundreds every afternoon around 4 but they land on the wires or a yard, stay there chattering for 5 or 10 minutes, and then leave. I had been using a Lyric Songbird no-mess blend in my window feeders but the starlings descended one day and stripped the feeders clean in minutes. I had 14 of them all at once on each of two 4" x 12" attachable window feeders, fighting with each other for the food. It was like a cartoon. They were stuffed inside, flipping the seed out, on the top, hanging on the perch on the front. If I wasn't so mad I would have been LOL. Actually I was. But I was ripping mad too. I was knocking at the window until I thought I was going to break it. Believe me. They didn't give a hoot. Knock away, sucker. We've got your food. Best in the neighborhood. Hahaha. The same thing happened the next day. I left the feeders empty for over a week and then replaced the songbird mix with half nyjer/half safflower seeds with a few peanuts in their shells mixed in. Everything was great for about 10 days. The cardinals, purple finches, sparrows, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, bluejays all took a day or so to get used to the new offering and then seemed to love it. I was willing to put up with having to sweep up the seed mess on the walkway under the window if it meant the new mix kept the starlings at bay. It did until 2 days ago. Now the feeders are stripped again, there's seed and poop all over the feeders, the side of my house, and under the window. It was extraordinarily cold here the past two days (-10 with 35 mph winds) and I'm wondering if that's why the starlings are eating food they allegedly hate. I will try one more time and then I'll have to stop feeding the birds I love if the starlings come back. I hate to do it but I can't keep up with the cost and mess caused by the hordes of starlings. I'll post this on the safflower seed site as well so that other buyers will be aware that starlings will eat it. UPDATE: it's been a few weeks since the frigid temps we had on the weekend that the starlings stripped the feeders. Since those two days I have only seen one starling once at the feeders. The nyjer/safflower/peanuts in shell mix is definitely keeping the starlings at bay and the rest of the birds happy. The starlings must've been starving on the frigidly cold days and would have eaten anything for energy. I'm glad I could oblige, I suppose! It's a real mess under the feeders and I have to sweep every day or two to keep the seed from tracking into the house but it is fun to watch the birds fly in and enjoy themselves at the window feeders.

This is the best seed to get! The birds love it. I get mostly gold finches and house finches. I'm using a wire cage type feeder and the birds are active on it. Have had other brands and the birds don't eat it. We end up throwing it away. Glad I switched to this brand and didn't give up on it.

Excellent product and keeps the squirrels very happy

I usually get the 10 lb bag but it was unavailable for awhile so I got a different brand from HD. The other brand was a couple of bucks cheaper but two negatives - The other brands bag had no way to seal after opening, this ones bags have velcro, makes them nicer. But what appears to be worse is after filling the feeder with the other brand the birds didn't eat it.??? I usually complain that this is getting expensive 'cause I'm filling the feeder so often I'm going thru a 10 lb bag a week. (4 or 5 fillings of the feeder) The other stuff they only half emptied the feeder in the first week. So, I bought this five lb bag to see if it's the food or just the birds going somewhere else to hang out. After a few days the birds seem to be returning. Googles best answer as to why is the other brand may have been stored improperly and was slightly rancid. I can't tell but birds can be picky. I'm just going to stick with this Wagner brand.

Very good quality and decent price. Finches love this seed. Doves don't eat it. I placed mine in an open bowl and a big mess of them scattering around. It needs to be in a feeder more controlled so it does not scatter. I use White Proso Millet and Sunflower Kernels Medium Grind (broken and shelled) so the doves and finches can eat them easily. Whole sunflower seed even when shelled are too large for small birds, so get the medium grind instead. I use a large wood tray on the fence. I place two poultry chick feeders on it, filled with White Proso Millet topped with sunflower kernels. The birds have to stick their heads in to eat, preventing fighting and scratching and scattering of food. Then I place some Nyjer seed in a bowl in the middle so finches can gather and eat. The tray catches any mess that is cleared up by birds in the morning before I put out the seeds again. This system works well. However, finches like to eat in a group an and are intimidated by doves. Having a finch hanging feeder for Nyjer will keep away doves and focus on Finches only. A better solution. I never use squirrel guards. They are cruel and only make squirrels angry and frustrated. Instead, I have 2 squirrel feed trays attached to fence. Each one has a bowl of sunflower kernels and a bowl of nuts - walnuts, almonds, peanuts. Now the squirrels don't attack each other or birds to get at the food and birds can eat in peace. Harmony. Putting out food creates aggression, agitation, competition for resources in wildlife. You have to manage it to get balance and peace and no wastage of the food. Giving doves a platform - they love it. Giving squirrels their own bowls, they leave birds alone, do not bully them, and don't overturn bird feeders. Giving finches a separate feeding space means they can gather with their own kind and not be bullied by doves or squirrels.

Quality Niger Seed loved by our goldfinches and comes in manageable sizes. Often sell out so sometimes delivery is delayed. This always seems fresh.

Finch Birds love this!

The birds really love this. Goldfinch go crazy over it. As do all the other Songbirds. I put it in mesh feeders, as well as sprinkle it over the tray seeds. They always eat it up right away. I've tried other brands. This is by far the best. I'm not sure where they get their seeds, possibly from Africa? In any case they are the genuine Niger are not regular thistle. I've tried several other brands and this is by far the best but it's also more expensive. They do eat the other brands, but just not the way they eat this brand. This is their "go to" for best taste!