How the bird finder works
We built a table of 55 common North American feeder birds. For each, the foods come from Project FeederWatch's food guide and the Backyard Tips on its All About Birds page; for example, FeederWatch notes nyjer draws American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins and redpolls, and that mealworms are one of the only foods that reliably attract bluebirds. Then we mark, for each of 7 US regions, the seasons when the species is typically at feeders, from All About Birds range maps and FeederWatch's regional top-25 lists. Species are sorted from very common feeder regulars to occasional treats.
It's deliberately simplified. Range edges run through the middle of regions, irruptive birds such as Pine Siskins and Red-breasted Nuthatches turn up in big numbers some winters and not others, and habitat matters: a wooded yard gets different visitors from a city balcony. Use the list as a starting point and confirm with recent sightings on eBird.
| Food | Typical visitors | Feeder |
|---|---|---|
| Black-oil sunflower | American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Carolina Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker | Any seed camera feeder (hopper or tray) |
| Nyjer (thistle) | American Goldfinch, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, Indigo Bunting | A feeder with very small ports or fine mesh; most open-tray camera feeders spill it |
| Safflower | Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse | Any seed camera feeder |
| Suet | Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker | A suet cage or a camera feeder with a suet holder or suet-ball add-on |
| Sugar-water nectar | Anna's Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird | A hummingbird (nectar) camera feeder |
| Mealworms | Black-capped Chickadee, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Mountain Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird | An open tray or dish; dried mealworms work in most tray-style camera feeders |
| White proso millet | Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Song Sparrow | Low trays and the ground below the feeder; camera trays catch some |
Get the list for your region and season in the Which birds will I attract? tool.
Choosing a camera feeder for the food
Most smart feeders are open trays or hoppers, which suit sunflower, safflower, seed mixes and dried mealworms. Nyjer is so small it spills from wide trays, so hang a small-port finch feeder in camera view instead. Suet needs a cage or a suet-ball holder clipped beside the perch. Nectar needs a dedicated hummingbird camera feeder such as the Birdfy Hum 2K or Humbirdy 4K. If squirrels are a problem, safflower plus a baffled pole is the gentlest fix (see squirrel-proof camera feeders).
A worked example
Start with the defaults: Northeast, winter, black-oil sunflower. The list leads with Northern Cardinal, Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, nuthatches, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Blue Jay and Dark-eyed Junco, a busy winter feeder. Switch the food to nectar and the list empties: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have left for the season, so the tool suggests sunflower instead. Switch to Pacific Coast and winter nectar, and Anna's Hummingbird appears, because it stays year-round there. That's the practical lesson: put out the right food for the season, and on the Pacific Coast keep a nectar feeder thawed through winter.
Ready to choose a feeder? Try the feeder matcher, read how to attract birds to a new feeder, or see the winter bird feeding guide.
Sources
- Project FeederWatch: Feeding Birds (food and feeder types)
- Project FeederWatch: Common Feeder Birds
- Project FeederWatch: Top 25 birds by region
- All About Birds: About suet, mealworms and other bird foods
- Audubon: How to make hummingbird nectar
- All About Birds species guides (e.g. Northern Cardinal)