Some hopefully helpful info for those of you that want to feed song birds, but keep the pests away. What and how you feed makes a big difference in what you attract. In the Pacific Northwest, straight black oil sunflower seed will draw song birds, but not starlings, etc. or squirrels. This and niger (thistle) seed will also draw finches. If you WANT to draw starlings, doves, etc. try cracked corn and large striped sunflower seeds, or the cheap commercial bird seed mix. Feeders make a difference. Tube feeders work best for the small guys. Raised platforms work well, also, and will also draw some of the larger song birds. Good cover close by makes a huge difference, also.
For the target varieties, just sprinkle it around on the ground. Unshelled peanuts, also tossed out on the ground, will bring in squirrels and blue jays, and will help keep them off the platform feeders. Before I moved, I had a HUGE feeding station, my platform feeder was 6 ft. long and 2 ft. wide, plus I had 4 tube feeders! I went through over 100 lbs. of black oil a month. I also spread commercial mix on the ground for doves and quail. I almost never had a starling there.
Hope this is some help to both the bird watchers and shooters!
Dave
