A Detailed Review of the 7 Best Wild Bird Foods for Your Yard

A Detailed Review of the 7 Best Wild Bird Foods for Your Yard

If you love watching and interacting with your local birds, then you understand the importance of putting out the best wild bird foods for them to enjoy while they’re on your property. Having good bird food can make all the difference between having lots of birds in your yard and having none.

While this is a simple concept to understand, it can be difficult to know what’s important to look for when you’re shopping for wild bird foods. Fortunately, this complete set of reviews and buying guide will show you exactly what to be aware of and also give you insight into some of the best bird foods on the market. By the end, you should have an excellent idea of which wild bird food is going to be the best one for you and your situation.

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Best Wild Bird Foods – Review of the Top 7


To help you determine some of the best products on the market, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular bird foods.

For each product, with the aim of saving you time and money, we’ll take an in-depth dive into the pros and cons, as well as the overall reputation of the seed.

Wagner’s 62059 Greatest Variety Blend 16-Pound Bag – 9.0/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • Includes 40 percent sunflower
  • Dimensions: 3.8 x 20.6 x 13.4 inches (approx. 10 x 52 x 34 cm)
  • Weight: 16 pounds (approx. 7 kg)

Pros

  • Attracts a variety of songbirds
  • Gourmet blend with 11 quality ingredients
  • Made in the U.S.

Cons

  • Expensive compared to other seeds

Editorial Review

This 16-pound bag is made by Wagner’s, which is one of the most reputable names in the wild bird food industry. While using this food, you shouldn’t have a problem with attracting a variety of beautiful songbirds to your yard or property, because this feed is made up of a unique blend of ingredients. There are 11 different ingredients included in the mix, and it even contains a 40 percent portion of high-quality sunflower.

What Others Are Saying

Although there were some quality control issues that Wagner’s is still trying to solve with this particular bag of wild bird seed, the outlook on this product is very positive. People love that their local birds enjoy it and come to their yard more often than ever. One change we’d love to see is the cost, as for bird food, it’s quite expensive.

Wild Delight 366200 20-Pound Nut-N-Berry Bird Food – 9.5/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • Contains vitamins, minerals and electrolytes
  • Dimensions: 26 x 13 x 3 inches (approx. 66 x 33 x 8 cm)
  • Weight: 19.9 pounds (9 kg)

Pros

  • Comes with your choice of packaging
  • Comes in multiple sizes
  • Advanced formula for bird attraction
  • Doesn’t contain fillers

Cons

  • Not many fruits

Editorial Overview

This wild bird seed from Wild Delight is a basic but higher-end food that contains some high-quality ingredients. The advanced formula will help this seed attract enough birds to your yard, while another great benefit of this food is that it contains no fillers. That means the company doesn’t use worthless ingredients that don’t serve a purpose, just to take up space in each bag. This food is available in multiple sizes and packaging types, and overall, it’s a fantastic wild bird food.

What Others Are Saying

Many past users of this product have nice things to say about it and love using it for their birds and squirrels. However, while many praise the high-quality ingredients, there is one area of concern. Wild birds typically love foods that are high in fruit content, and while this food does have many high-quality ingredients, it doesn’t contain fruit. Other than that, though, this is a high-quality food that should meet the needs of most people.

Lyric Fruit & Nut High Energy Wild Bird Mix – 9.0/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • 13 all-natural ingredients
  • Dimensions: 25 x 15 x 4 inches (approx. 63 x 38 x 10 cm)
  • Weight: 20 pounds (9 kg)

Pros

  • Great for high-energy birds
  • Comes in multiple sizes
  • Contains premium ingredients

Cons

  • Has some fillers

Editorial Review

This bird seed from Lyric is a great option if you’re trying to attract smaller, more high-energy birds to your lawn. That’s because the ingredients it contains are specifically designed to provide each bird with energy and encourage them to keep coming back to your yard. This mix contains a blend of fruits, seeds and nuts that your birds will enjoy immensely. There are 13 different ingredients included in total, all with varying nutritional quality.

What Others Are Saying

This bird seed comes at a cost, but most people love it and say that it’s well worth the money. The one complaint we did see was the fact that lately, there are more fillers included in this food. These fillers include things like corn and other lower-quality foods. You’ll want to keep an eye on that, but the value that this food provides, along with the other ‘good’ ingredients, can’t be overlooked.

Wild Delight Deck, Porch N’ Patio No Waste Bird Food – 9.5/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • Specific blend promotes cleanliness
  • Dimensions: 26 x 13 x 3 inches (approx. 66 x 33 x 8 cm)
  • Weight: 19.95 pounds (9 kg)

Pros

  • Contains high-quality ingredients without fillers
  • Blended variety of ingredients to attract a range of birds
  • No chemical preservatives

Cons

  • Much more expensive than other options

Editorial Review

If you’re looking for a premium option and are willing to spend a bit of extra money to get it, then this could be a good choice for you. The Porch N’ Patio blend by Wild Delight contains a wide range of high-quality ingredients—all without the fillers. While other companies charge less and use more fillers, this company takes the opposite approach with this feed, striving to provide you with the very best quality possible.

What Others Are Saying

The feedback on this seed is quite positive, because of the high quality that it represents. With a higher-quality seed, you’ll be able to attract more birds to your yard, as many people have testified. The main area of concern with this food is that because of the quality, it costs more than others. However, you might actually end up spending the same amount of money as you otherwise would on seed, because useless filler ingredients haven’t been added to pad the weight of the bags.

Wagner’s Nutty Fruit Harvest Bird Food – 9.5/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • For year-round feeding
  • Dimensions: 15 x 3.2 x 8.9 inches (approx. 38 x 8 x 23 cm)
  • Weight: 6 pounds (approx. 3 kg)

Pros

  • Reputable brand name
  • Attracts a variety of birds
  • High-energy blend
  • Made in the U.S.

Cons

  • Comes in a small size

Editorial Review

This seed would be great for someone who is looking to try out Wagner’s products, since it comes in such a small bag. If you’re looking to feed your birds something they’ll be attracted to, and you want to be able to see a variety of birds at the same time, this could be the right choice for you. The variety of ingredients will attract all kinds of birds to your feeder, where they can feast on the high-quality peanuts and other ingredients that Wagner’s has included in this blend.

What Others Are Saying

The downside of this bag is that it’s small, so if you like this blend and want to order more, you’ll have to do so one bag at a time, which could be very costly. We all know that it’s more affordable to buy bags of seed in a larger size.

Aside from the fact that the bags are small, past users of this product absolutely love the nutrition and taste that this blend provides their birds with. We recommend it to anyone who’s willing to use smaller bags.

Audubon Park Nyjer/Thistle Seed – 8.5/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • Contains high-fat oilseed
  • Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.4 x 2.9 inches (approx. 44 x 26 x 8 cm)
  • Weight: 10.1 pounds (approx. 5 kg)

Pros

  • Attracts a variety of wild birds
  • Can be used in a variety of feeders
  • Family-owned business

Cons

  • Not available in multiple sizes

Editorial Review

This bird food by Audubon Park is made by a lesser-known brand, but it does live up to the quality level you’d expect from a family-owned business. While keeping up a decent level of quality, this bird seed comes at a very affordable price, in comparison to other bird foods out there. This bird food features a high-fat oilseed that small birds will love, and you can use it in multiple types of feeders.  

What Others Are Saying

The majority of the users who were very pleased with this product used it to attract finches. That’s the specialty associated with this food, although it can be used to feed other kinds of birds. The main criticism was that it’s not available in multiple sizes, which doesn’t allow for frequent buyers to save much money. The fact that it’s quite affordable in the first place may soften the blow, though.

Morning Song Clean and Free Wild Bird Food – 9.0/10.0

Features & Specifications

  • Suitable for hopper, tube or platform feeders
  • Dimensions: 16.4 x 10 x 2.5 inches (approx. 42 x 25 x 6 cm)
  • Weight: 10 pounds (approx. 5 kg)

Pros

  • Comes in two different sizes
  • Doesn’t come with shells
  • Made in the U.S.

Cons

  • Some filler ingredients

Editorial Review

This is one of the more affordable options on our list of the best wild bird foods, but it still provides decent value. It comes in two different sizes, so you can customize the right amount of food for you, and it’s made by a reputable, U.S.-based company that you can trust. Overall, this is solid food that isn’t the most premium option, but it will satisfy the needs of most people who want to see birds in their yard.

What Others Are Saying

The reviews of this product are generally positive, because most people know that for the price, this food provides good value. Yes, there are some filler ingredients that don’t really have any nutritional purpose, but the feed will still travel through your feeders well and attract a variety of wild birds.

Wild Bird Foods Buying Guide


If you’re going to be shopping for the best bird food on the market, there are some things you should know beforehand to ensure that you’re able to get the right food for you. The following are some important considerations that we’ve taken into account while writing our in-depth reviews and analyses of each of the bird foods on our list.

Value

You might think that this refers to the cost of bird food, but in fact, it refers to how much value you get for the money that you spend. If you’re able to get a high-quality bird food at a price that is only slightly higher than average, we’d consider that a win in the value category.

Ingredients

Another thing to pay attention to when you’re buying bird food is the ingredients list. You should examine what the bird food consists of, because this matters not only when it comes to the type of birds you’ll be able to attract, but also in regard to the mess it’ll make, how much actual food you’ll be getting and how well the food can move through your feeder.

You should generally stay away from high-cost bird foods that have a lot of filler ingredients. This type of food typically won’t resemble high-quality food or a product that offers a good amount of value for the price.

Bag Size

Generally, the bigger the bag, the more money you’re going to save. Buying in higher quantities almost always works out for the best, especially if you’re buying a bird food you already know that you like. Even if you don’t go for the largest bag that’s available, make sure you find a size that’s suitable for you and allows you to save some money along the way.


The Bottom Line

After taking all these considerations into account, we’ve determined that the best wild bird food of 2019 is the Wild Delight Deck, Porch N’ Patio No Waste food. The reason is that it checks all the boxes and provides users with the highest-quality food available. It’s higher-priced, but that’s because it doesn’t include fillers and will give you only the essentials, instead of a bunch of useless ingredients.

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