I get asked a lot about changing seed blends during different seasons. The answer is “Yes” but with an asterisk (*).

Yes, in the fall and winter seasons it is much easier to offer blends with fruit in them. The dehydrated fruits used in wild bird seed don’t tend to get sticky when it’s cold. And as a bonus, there aren’t any ants climbing the poles trying to get at the fruit. In the summer, it’s another story.

But we also must apply an asterisk to the statement. As the picture shows the corn I added to my sunflower/nut mix isn’t being eaten. Now there are many birds that like corn. Larger birds like woodpeckers, cardinals, doves, crows, blue jays and more will eat whole corn (pictured). Smaller birds like finches and sparrows eat cracked corn. Many people buy corn from us to feed ducks and geese.

However, when you change food or add ingredients to the food the birds “may not like it!” This feeder is a perfect example, I basically put nuts in it for the blue jays. I know they will eat corn but… what the heck.

Well to put it bluntly birds are creatures of habit. And like you and I they know what they like and where to find it. Unlike you and I they don’t have quite the number of taste buds as mammals (humans up to 10,000 taste buds vs. birds up to a few hundred). So humans rely on taste more than birds, but birds do use taste as a sense.

So, the moral of the story is yes, go ahead and change seed blends (if you wish) during the different seasons. But *** don’t be shocked if everything isn’t eaten right away. The right bird may not have found that new ingredient yet!