Spring is here! That means the song birds are out — and they’re hungry. With so many different bird food varieties on the market, people often wonder what they should choose to attract them.

Most of the breeds you find in North America either have generalist diets (they’ll eat pretty much anything they can get) or eat seeds, with a smattering of fruit and insect specialists. Many species adjust their diets for the season. For instance, cardinals prefer seeds at any time of year, but once the whether warms they switch to this diet almost exclusively. Putting out seed in the spring and summer dovetails with their natural feeding habits.
 
Consider metabolism, too. All birds "run hot" - they have fast metabolisms and need to eat quite a bit for their bodyweight. North American song bird species tend toward smaller sizes. This leads to an even greater need for constant nutrition. This helps explain the cardinal’s adaptation to energy-dense foods such as seeds and fruit.
 
High-nutrition seeds are your first, best choice. Harder seeds are fine; they reduce the risk of unwanted freeloading from other species, while songbirds have no trouble with them.
 
We’ve got three products we recommend when you want to feed song birds: Dutch’s Deluxe, Superior Seeds, and Fruit & Berry. They fit the bill when it comes to most song birds’ energy needs. Put it out for them, and give yourself a chance to hear the first birdsong of spring.