Wagner's 57075 Safflower Seed Wild Bird Food, 5 Pound (Pack of 1)

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 12,674 ratings

Price: 11.98

Last update: 01-11-2025


About this item

Made in the USA
A favorite seed of Cardinals and other songbirds
Highest quality grains used
Found in many gourmet mixes
Most squirrels generally dislike this seed

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars Great seed
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024
All birds love this seed especially cardinals
Cindy
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for replacement
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2024
No bugs this time. Thank you for replacing. The birds are happy!
boomdork
5.0 out of 5 stars good seed
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2022
Amazon asks me to rate Wagner's Wild Bird Food on freshness and flavor, but I haven't tasted it and the birds do not voice much of an opinion. Safflower seed has been hard to find anywhere in early 2022, so I was happy to find it here. The price is right, the packaging is good, and the seed has no concerning appearances or smells. The birds here seem to take it just fine. (They were accustomed to Kaytee, but they voiced no complaints about changes in terroir, nose, palate or mouthfeel. It's a good vintage, but I wouldn't lay it down for more than a year.) Squirrels continue to show no interest.

Here's the thing about squirrels and other unwanted visitors: your first line of defense is the shape and placement of your feeder. Forget about paying a premium for fancy mechanical devices; I've never found one that squirrels couldn't outsmart. Nevertheless, there is no point in making it easy for them. Don't give them anything that is easy to climb, jump to or hang from.

Secondly, avoid seed mixes. Birds' natural behavior is to flick away any seeds that do not meet their particular culinary preferences. This sends excessive amounts of seed to the ground, where it will attract a few ground-feeding birds like mourning doves but also a lot of mammalian varmints that you would probably not welcome. I might occasionally add some nyjer seed to the tray, which does not seem to encourage flicking but does seem to appeal to wrens – an enjoyable and useful species. In the winter I place suet in a separate nearby feeder, which attracts woodpeckers of all sorts, bluebirds(!), thrashers and a few others. When grackles return in the spring, they will quickly decimate the suet, so I trade out that feeder for a hummingbird feeder. Two feeders at a time – that's it. (I've got mulberry trees and juniper trees that attract flocks of cedar waxwings a couple of times a year – a delight!)

Third, safflower seed, in contrast to almost every other seed I have tried, does seem to be significantly less interesting to squirrels. I've read that it has a sour taste that mammals do not like but birds do not notice. Cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, finches and whoever is in the neighborhood seem to like it just fine.

Fourth, back to the physical feeder. I have found that a design with a narrow (½”) lip on the seed tray, blocked elsewhere by the seed reservoir, keeps larger perching birds (e.g., blackbirds, grackles, starlings, robins, blue jays, etc.) off the feeder. I have also found that adding an ounce or two of fresh seed to the tray each day, placing only a few small rocks in the seed reservoir for stability in the wind, is a useful strategy. Of course the seed sometimes runs out during the day. Intermittent reinforcement has been shown to be the strongest incentive for birds to keeping coming back to see if seed has been added.
Deborah M Rankin
4.0 out of 5 stars Dirty Seed
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024
I started buying this seed because where I was getting it before was suddenly very dirty. There was a lot of powder in it. Now this seed has gotten very dirty also the last few bags. Really makes a mess of my feeders. Cancelled my subscription.
Sherry Walling
5.0 out of 5 stars My birds won’t eat
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
I gave this a five star review because there’s nothing wrong with the product. I ordered it by mistake. I thought it said sunflower seeds. So when it got here I said I might as well give it a try. I live in Alaska and none of the birds here would eat it. I left it out there a whole week. Nothing. They came and tried it and then never came back. I finally tasted one and it is so bitter no wonder they won’t eat it. So I threw the bag away and ordered more sunflower seed. Now my birds are back!!
C
5.0 out of 5 stars Less mess but beware of weevils
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024
Definitely less mess than normal birdseed and I have birds visiting frequently throughout the day. However, I would highly recommend not storing this indoors as these seeds often have weevils (small, harmless, slow moving bugs). They’re an extra treat for birds but not something you want infesting your pantry.
kkott
5.0 out of 5 stars Good bird seed to discourage squirrels
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023
What I've been told is that safflower seed is too hard for squirrels to eat, but most birds are fine with it, and that's been my experience. I never get squirrels on my feeder anymore, and I like the zip lock top and the birds I get (finches, cardinals, chickadees and titmouse) all seem to like it as well as the standard food. I do still get doves coming to it, but in much lower numbers, which I'm fine with. It is a smaller size, but the price isn't higher compared to the larger bags, and they don't have the zip lock top so I just order these 2 at a time. FYI, my girlfriend has used it and for some reason her squirrels will still come and eat it, though not as enthusiastically or in the same #s.
Joe L Martinez
5.0 out of 5 stars good quality
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2024
This is good fresh seed, the finches love it here in northeastern Colorado.

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