I have been buying bird feed by the tons it seems thinking that I am going to attract the birds mentioned on the packages. . . only to be visited on a regular basis by sparrows and a few pigeons gobbling up the seed. I felt a little chagrined and then had a “taken to the woodshed” mental moment . . . “Sparrows lives matter”, too! :)
I’m sure there’s people with better advice. What I’ve found is that cardinals want to eat standing on something, so I platform feed for them. They really like the tiny white safflower seeds.
Blue jays love corn on the cob and black sunflower seeds.
Since I’ve been platform feeding, I’m not seeing the mockingbird. I still get titmice and chickadees on the platform. They seem to go for anything. The juncos rarely come onto the platform, so I always throw seed onto the ground near the table where it won’t get snow covered too badly.
I’m being very lazy in feeding. I never go out the door to fill a feeder anymore. I just open the library window and pour seed onto the platform just barely under the window bottom. I’ve put all my birdbaths, heated, onto pedestals so I can refill them from a window as well.
I’m extensively using whole peanuts to keep the squirrels fat.
Advice, anyone? I’m in Massachusetts, on the RI border.