Sunflower Seed Feeders

Sunflower seed is one of the most favorite foods you can put out at a feeder. The birds go crazy over them. I’ve seed jays actually shake mixed seed out of a hopper feeder just to obtain one sunflower seed! If you planted sunflowers in your garden, you may find the birds will discover them before you realize they’re ready for “harvest,” which is after the petals have dried up.

Birds with stout beaks such as cardinals, chickadees, finches, grosbeaks, jays, nuthatches titmice, woodpeckers use their beaks to crack the hulls to reach the meat inside. Some birds don’t have large enough beaks, but will search in your feeder and under your feeder for sunflower meats that may have been left behind. These birds include blackbirds, juncos, sparrows, and towhees.

When considering a feeder, you may want to consider that others also love sunflower seeds, such as squirrels and rodents. To discourage the rodents, be sure to store your sunflowers in a container such as a metal or thick plastic barrel or trash container – and clean up under the feeders, if necessary. As for squirrels, they can be very persistent even with the strongest or trickiest of squirrel-proof bird feeders. A squirrel-proof feeder will protect most of your seed from their greedy little paws. However, my dad used to say, “The squirrels need to eat, also!” So if you don’t mind feeding the squirrels also, then just about any hopper-type feeder will do. Adding a squirrel baffle may be enough to discourage them somewhat.

Tube feeders with larger ports to accommodate sunflower seeds usually work well for sunflower-eating birds as well as deter squirrels. A platform feeder with a grid floor also works to discourage squirrels – they can’t get their large paws through. There are also hopper-type bird feeders that have weight sensitive perches that close the doors to the seed when a heavier creature lights on the perch.

We have a wide variety of feeders that you can feed your birds sunflowers. Hope you find one that you can enjoy!

Some suitable sunflower feeders:

Tube Feeders
Squirrel-Proof bird feeders
Hopper-type (not squirrel-proof)
Squirrel baffles