=================== SUNFLOWER RESEARCH REPORT ====================== Posted: 27 Nov 97 by Paul To: "Tweeters" tweeters@u.washington.edu ==================================================================== INTRODUCTION Backyard bird feeding is a convenient way to enjoy wildlife. According to a recent Census Report, over 65 million Americans, young and old, have given it a try. What has made watching birds the fastest growing hobby in the country, second only to gardening? Whatever it is, watching birds, like watching fish or other animals, seems to make people feel good. MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ENJOY WILDLIFE-RELATED RECREATION, PUMPING BILLIONS INTO NATIONAL ECONOMY, SURVEY SHOWS .....77 million adults enjoyed some form of wildlife-related recreation in 1996, according to a nationwide survey sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildlife watchers spent $31 billion in 1996. Feeding birds and other wildlife was by far the most popular activity, with 54.1 million participants. [NOTE] 1966: 54.1 million participants; 1996: 65 million. No doubt there has been a corresponding increase in dollars spent! The vast majority of millions of backyard birders feed their birds sunflower seed. That represents significant numbers when it comes to dollars, jobs, imports, exports, and contribution to the national economy. Here are some of the facts. ======================================================== HISTORY and World Production Although the sunflower grows almost everywhere, it is thought to be native to South America. It is grown today from the bottom of South America to the Canadadian prairies. Even before Columbus discovered America, Native Americans were using the sunflower as a main source of food. They used it to thicken soup, in bread, and as a drink after being smashed and added to water. In early America the stem was smashed into a pulp to make paper. Today the sunflower is used for many more things. The petals are used as fodder or animal feed, they can give a yellow dye, and can be made into soap, planters, or candles. The seeds can be eaten plain or made into vegetable oil. The sunflower, which got the name "flower of the sun" has the botanical name Helianthus Annuus. A single sunflower growing up to 18 inches in diameter can produce up to 2,000 seeds! Sunflower was developed first as an important commercial oilseed crop in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The oil has found widespread acceptance as a high quality, edible oil throughout much of the world. Major producing countries or areas are the FSU, Argentina, Eastern Europe, USA, China, France, and Spain. These seven countries or areas of the world produce about 84 percent of the world's production of both oilseed and nonoilseed sunflower. Historically, the FSU has been the number one producer of sunflower, producing about 27 percent of the world's production in 1991-92. During much of the 1970s, the United States was the world's second largest producer, but in the 1980s Argentina became firmly entrenched in second place. Average yields per acre during the 1977-1992 period were 1,184 pounds for oilseeds and 1,196 pounds for non-oilseed sunflower. North Dakota's average yield ranges from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds per acre. ======================================================== SEEDS SOURCE: http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/Wildlife/g669.htm#see When choosing seeds, think about the birds that interest you and the types of seeds that attract them. Small black oil-type sunflower seeds are overall the most widely preferred bird seed, so these normally are the major portion of seeds offered. They have high energy content, and the thin shells allow easy use by smaller birds such as chickadees, pine siskins, juncos, and native sparrows, as well as cardinals, mourning doves, grosbeaks, and others. White proso millet is another attractive seed used especially by smaller birds, and a small amount of finely cracked corn is good in a mix. Safflower is being used increasingly, with reports that cardinals, chickadees, house and purple finches, nuthatches, and mourning doves consume it, but that it is less attractive to grackles, starlings, house sparrows, and squirrels. Keep in mind that birds prefer good quality seeds that are reasonably fresh. Seeds that are too old or of poor quality may be avoided or just scattered from the feeder onto the ground. Small holes in sunflower seeds, for example, may indicate insect damage and reduced quality. Niger thistle seeds, which are often used in finch feeders, are highly attractive to finches when fresh, but may be rejected when several months old. Although commercially packaged seed mixes offer a convenient way to get started in bird feeding, such mixtures often contain large amounts of filler seeds that birds do not prefer, and the seeds may not be as fresh as ideal. A good alternative is to purchase preferred seeds in bulk and mix your own, or try fresh specialty mixes available from sources that specialize in bird feeding products. One seed combination that is attractive to a wide range of desirable backyard songbirds is: 50 percent sunflower seeds 35 percent white proso millet 15 percent finely cracked corn. Many other combinations also work well, and you can adjust mixtures to fit your situation. Food preferences may vary somewhat depending on where you live and on what birds frequent your feeders. Some experienced bird feeders recommend that at least 75 percent of the seed offered should be black oil-type sunflower. Grit Occasionally providing grit, such as sand or fine poultry or canary grit, is also beneficial because it is retained in the gizzard where it helps in grinding seeds. When snow covers the ground, birds may resort to using grit from old roofing shingles, which may be unhealthy for them. Eggshells or crushed limestone can serve as grit and may provide a needed calcium source during the egg-laying season. Grit can be mixed with seeds or placed in a tray or on the ground. ======================================================== ABOUT SUNFLOWER SEED: SOURCE: http://www.maineaudubon.org/bfee.htm Seed Varieties: Sunflower seed is the favorite choice of black-capped chickadees, evening grosbeaks, tufted titmice, blue jays, American goldfinches, house finches, purple finches, and northern cardinals. Seed-eating birds will eat little else as long as sunflower seed is available, and as a result, it should comprise the bulk of the food you provide. Sunflower seed is best offered UNMIXED in its own feeder. There are two varieties of sunflower seed. Grey-striped sunflower seed has long been familiar to people who feed birds, and it is especially preferred by tufted titmice, common grackles, and blue jays. In recent years, black-oil sunflower seed has become the popular choice of people who feed birds. Smaller than the grey-striped variety, with a thinner hull and higher calorie content, black-oil seed is preferred by chickadees, evening grosbeaks, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and finches. [NOTE]: *** From: Michael Price: About striped sunflower: In Europe, black sunflower is very difficult to come by for some reason, and people are feeding exclusively striped sunflower. One of the unforeseen results is that bill damage among some of their wintering birds, including their chickadee-equivalent species, the tits, is not uncommon. Some feeding of striped sunflower doesn't seem to hurt them, but if they have to feed on it all winter, the cumulative damage to their bills sometimes results in crossing and breaking]. *** Hulled sunflower hearts and chips are also available, though at a premium price. The primary advantage of this seed is that it eliminates the accumulation of hulls on your lawn. Sunflower hulls in quantity are toxic to plant life and will kill the grass under the feeder if not periodically raked up and removed. ======================================================== GEIS RESEARCH PAPER ON SEED PREFERENCES: http://www.wildbirdcenter.com/feedpref.htm Sunflower Products (Helianthus annuus) Black striped sunflower seeds (BSS) is an extremely popular and effective bird food. The form commercially marketed as bird feed tends to have relatively small seeds because the BSS crop is screened so that the larger seeds can be used for human consumption. This is doubly advantageous since the larger seed is generally less attractive to birds than the smaller seed. The two other forms of BSS are described below. Eller Eller is a small form of BSS grown in Georgia for export to Europe. Cardinals, purple finches (Carpodacus purpureus), house finches, house sparrows and white-throated sparrows all showed a preference for Eller over the regular BSS, while blue jays, scrub jays and tufted titmice preferred the larger BSS. Large Black Striped Sunflower Seeds Jays and tufted titmice were the only species that preferred this large seed (obtained by screening). Gray Striped Sunflower Seeds Although this large sunflower seed is visually appealing to people, very few birds preferred it. Only the species liking large seeds (jays and tufted titmice) found this form as attractive as BSS. This rather expensive sunflower product can be viewed as an inferior substitute for BSS. Hulled Sunflower Pieces and Sunflower Kernels Whole or broken kernels of hulled sunflowers were very attractive to American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) and house finches. They were also readily taken by some species that prefer White Processed Millet (WPM) to BSS, such as white-crowned and white-throated sparrows, which took sunflower kernels and pieces more readily than WPM. Sunflower kernels have the added advantage that their use by birds does not result in the accumulation of hulls, which some people find objectionable. Oil-type Sunflower Seeds The small, black oil-type sunflower seed (BOSS) is superior to other foods, including BSS, for most bird species. Among the common species visiting feeding tables, only the tufted titmouse, grackle and blue jay did not demonstrate a preference for oil-type sunflower over BSS. Some species that are normally regarded as small-seed eaters took oil-type sunflower much more readily than BSS. For example, mourning doves found it almost as attractive as WPM, while both white-throated and song sparrows took it readily. Shortly after the conclusion of the major portion of this study of nation-wide tests, oil-type sunflower that was substantially smaller than that used in the tests became commercially available. When the reaction of birds to this smaller seed was compared with that to the seed used in earlier tests, the smaller seed was found to be far more attractive for several species, especially American goldfinches. This information suggests that the superior performance of oil-type sunflower would have been even better had smaller seed been used. Incidentally, the smaller seed is viewed by the sunflower industry as "inferior" and is less expensive than the "higher" quality seed. Oil-type sunflower seeds tend to last longer in bird feeders because of the greater number of seeds per unit weight. There are from two to four times as many oil-type sunflower seeds as BSS in the same weight. The difference is particularly important when one considers the number of seeds found in a 50 pound bag of bird seed. A bag of the small oil-type sunflower seed contains over 600,000 seeds while conventional BSS has about 179,000 seeds per 50 pound bag. Niger (Guizotyia abyssinica) Niger (also called thistle seed) was very attractive to goldfinches. It was generally unattractive to all other species, with the exception of mourning doves and house finches. This food is especially effective when presented in the summer in tubular feeders, to attract goldfinches at a time when their plumage is especially beautiful. [NOTE] Also excellent feed and loved by Redpolls and Pine Siskins. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) A number of bird species eat wheat, but none find it nearly as attractive as WPM or BSS. Among the common visitors to feeding stations, mourning doves, house sparrows and white-throated sparrows all find wheat to be about one-fifth as attractive as WPM. This general unattractiveness makes wheat an ineffective ingredient when included as it commonly is in wild bird food mixes. Because of their general attractiveness, oil-type sunflower seed and WPM should play a prominent part in most feeding programs. Although BSS, which has traditionally been used, is an excellent bird food, the oil-type sunflower seed is more attractive to most species and is no more expensive. People wanting to maximize bird feeding activity should avoid the use of commercial mixes which typically contain generally unattractive foods such as wheat, milo, peanut hearts, hulled oats and rice. However, because the species composition of the birds present varies from time to time and also from place to place, it is impossible to recommend what would constitute the appropriate ratio of attractive ingredients. Therefore, it is not possible to formulate an entirely satisfactory seed mixture. The present study suggests that the best over-all results can be obtained by purchasing oil-type sunflower seed and WPM and offering them separately. This technique also facilitates recognition of the differences in feeding behavior among the various species. Specifically, those species that prefer WPM tend to use the ground or large platform feeders, while many species taking oil-type sunflower seed readily use elevated feeders with small perching areas such as tubular feeders. The present research establishes that the results of earlier studies applies throughout the United States and that the efficiency with which wild birds are fed could be improved by recognizing the great differences among bird species in the specific foods they find attractive and the manner in which they prefer to eat. This information on feeding preferences and behavior can be used to present foods known to be attractive in the amounts and ways that are most efficient for the desired bird species present. ======================================================= "High-Energy Seed" SOURCE: United Kingdom birding site Having the highest oil content and energy value of any food available this mixture is especially valuable at times when extra demands are being placed on our birds. The periods leading up to breeding, migration and moulting, cold weather, and breeding all place extra demands for energy. Contains Black Sunflower Seeds, Sunflower Hearts, Peanut Granules, Canary Seed, Millet, Hemp Seed, Pinhead Oatmeal and Kibbled Maize. Black Sunflower Seeds The Black Sunflower Seed is more commonly known as the 'Oil' Sunflower Seed. Primarily used for the manufacture of margarine and cooking oil, it is the most cost-effective means of supplying high-energy foods to wildlife. Much of the seeds supplied to the U.K. are grown in the Eastern Block countries. Though cheaper, these sunflowers are not subject to the strict pesticide and safety regulations enjoyed in Europe, and consequently pose a potential health hazard to Wildlife. Sunflower Hearts The Sunflower Seed without the seed coat or husk, the Sunflower Heart, kilo for kilo, is the highest energy food available. Attractive to the widest range of creatures from humans to hedgehogs, this food surpasses all other known foods for quality, safety and suitability. Oystershell Grit During the breeding season it is vital that birds have an adequate calcium intake to help in the production of healthy egg shells. Our Oystershell Grit provides a wholly natural calcium source that can also be offered at other times of the year as a mineral supplement to aid digestion. You can either feed it by sprinkling a little in with a seed mix or putting a small amount on the corner of the bird table. Niger Seed Niger is widely referred to as a thistle seed. This is not the case. It is in fact a member of the compositae family, and is closely related to the sunflower. Often used as a 'tonic' food, Niger seed is oil rich and attractive to a wide range of species. ======================================================== FEEDING SAFFLOWER: Source: SELECTIVE BIRD FEEDING Grace Truman gopher://psupena.psu.edu:70/0%24d%20800111312 If you want to feed only cardinals, doves and white-throated sparrows, switch from black oil sunflower to safflower. [NOTE] From: Michael Price About safflower: It's quite a bitter-tasting seed, so any animal with a developed sense of taste usually avoids it; many birds can't taste, or can't as well as a squirrel, say, and consume it readily. ======================================================== The RIGHT SEED Source: http://www.kaytee.com/wild/feeding/finding.html The type of food placed in your feeders has a tremendous impact on the type of birds you attract. Many birds relish the larger, harder seeds such as oil and striped sunflower seeds. If you had to choose just one seed to feed in fact, it would be the OIL sunflower because of the variety of birds this seed will attract. ======================================================== SOURCE: US Fish & Wildlife Service pamphlet, "Homes for Birds" When the ground is covered with snow and ice, it's hard to resist just tossing seed out the door. But it's healthier for the birds to get their "hand-outs" at a feeding station, off the ground. Regardless of the season, food that sits on the ground for even a short time is exposed to potential contamination by dampness, mold, bacteria, animal droppings, lawn fertilizers and pesticides. It's best, for the birds' sake, to use a feeder. Seeds that wind up on the ground are likely to be contaminated by dampness and bird droppings. If the birds don't eat them, rodents will. The most effective way to attract the largest variety of birds to your yard is to put out separate feeders for each food. [NOTE] Reference: Corn, Ground Feeding From: Michael Price One thing about corn: it's *quite* hygroscopic, so it moistens any mix of which it's part, promoting toxic mold growth. I'd suggest feeding it only to waterfowl, or feeding only in parts of the country where the relative humidity is low. --- Yup... and it gums up feeders something fierce! ======================================================== KAYTEE website "ASK THE EXPERTS", Wild Bird Discussion section, http://www.kaytee.com/experts/wild/message_board.pl Message 2 of 3 in thread "SUNFLOWER SEED NUTRITION" Name: Dr. Blake Hawley E-Mail: -- No Address -- (go to Kaytee website) Subject: RE: SUNFLOWER SEED NUTRITION Date: 11/21/97 Message Content: On 11/15/97, Paul G. Parlee wrote: > Could you please answer the following questions for us about > sunflower seed: > 1. What is the difference in nutrition received by birds > fed with black oil as opposed to striped sunflower seed? > Can you break down the nutritional content by percentage > for each seed type? The primary difference between oil and striped sunflower is the fat (oil) content. Oil sunflower has 1-2 % more protein, and about 5-10% (depending on the type and cultivar) more oil. Basically they are the same otherwise. Average 19-22% protein; 35-49 % fat; 4% fiber; 0.11% calcium; 0.33% phosphorus, small amounts of vitamins and minerals. > 2. What are the implications for composting and mulching > using sunflower seed hulls given the allelopathic affects of > decomposing sunflower seeds (which release toxins > retarding plant growth)? Allelopathy is the way certain plants prevent other plants from growing too close to them. This is usually done using chemicals that the plant produces and release into its surroundings. It is a natural process of many plants including pines, walnut trees, and sunflowers. The chemicals are typically released from the roots. This is much more important in growing plants, rather than decomposing plants. Any compost heap should be made up of different vegetative matter including grass clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps (excluding bones, meat scraps or oils), and fresh vegetables or horse and cow manure but never just one or two of these items. Sunflower hulls are an excellent PART of a compost heap and will help create an excellent mulch. > 3. Do allelopathic toxins released enter the food chain of > plants, birds, and insects? What are the affects, if > any, of allelopathic toxins upon birds? These toxins do not enter the food chain and do not affect any wildlife. Remember, these are natural compounds. > 4. What processes and chemicals do you apply to raw > sunflower seeds during their production as birdseed. We only clean the seed and remove any debris. NO chemicals are used on these seeds. > 5. What is the waste factor by weight of hulls in a 50 lb > bag of striped, and a 50 lb bag of black oil sunflower seed. > In other words, what is the actual SEED ONLY weight for > each type after being hulled. For striped, 40-50% of the weight is hulls, for oil, 35-45% is hulls. Kaytee does offer a Waste-Free product which contains 60% hulled sunflowers and a separate mix called Sunflower hearts and Chips, which also has no hulls. REPLIES by Dr. Blake Hawley, Kaytee Seed website ======================================================== ALLELOPATHY AND SFS HULLS RE: Sunflower alleopathy: In Fine Gardening issue #37, May/June 1994, Frank Einhellig, plant physiologist of Southwest Missouri State University replied: "Sunflowers produce a number of compounds in their stems, leaves, and in the hulls of their seeds that will inhibit the growth of a variety of plants. Mulching with sunflower hulls could harm plants because toxins could leach from the hulls into the soil and inhibit the growth of susceptible plants." [NOTE]: Leaving hulls on grass can kill it over time, but the problem can be avoided by periodic cleanup and disposal of hulls. ======================================================== HOW PLANTS KEEP OTHER PLANTS AWAY http://miavx1.acs.muohio.edu/dragonfly/itc/glossary.htmlx Allelopathy is a chemical process that a plant uses to keep other plants out of its space. There are several types of chemical alleopathy. In one kind, the plant that is protecting its space releases growth-compounds from its roots into the ground. New plants trying to grow near the allelopathic plant absorb those chemicals from the soil and are unable to live. A second type of allelopathy releases chemicals that slows or stops the process of photosynthesis. An allelopathic plant may also release chemicals that change the amount of chlorophyll a plant has in it. When a plant's chlorophyll levels are changed, it cannot make the food it needs, and the plant dies. There are several ways in which an allelopathic plant can release its protective chemicals: Volatilization Allelopathic trees release a chemical in the form of a gas through small openings in their leaves. Other plants absorb the toxic chemical and die. Leaching All plants lose leaves. Some plants store protective chemicals in the leaves they drop. When the leaves fall to the ground, they decompose. As this happens, the leaves give off chemicals that protect the plant. Exudation Some plants release defensive chemicals into the soil through their roots. Those chemicals are absorbed by the roots of other trees near the allelopathic one. As a result, the non-allelopathic tree is damaged. ====================================================== YEAR ROUND FEEDING: http://www.kaytee.com/wild/feeding/finding.html Some people have argued that we can endanger birds by feeding year round. There is no scientific evidence, however, that shows that feeding birds discourages migration or increases the range of birds. Nor do birds become dependent on our feeding stations. Fortunately, nature prepares her avian children to fare well with or without us. Roger Tory Peterson, a prominent ornithologist, summed it up well when he said, "The truth of the matter is, birds could very well live without us, but many, perhaps all, of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable, without the birds." ======================================================== CLEANING FEEDERS US Fish & Wildlife Service pamphlet, "Homes for Birds" When you feed birds in confined area, you have to expect bird droppings, feathers, an occasional insect or two and left-over food mess. While you don't have to wash the feeder daily, you should clean it regularly. Diseases like salmonella can grow in moldy, wet seed and bird droppings in your feeder tray and on the ground below. It's a good idea to move your feeders (just a foot or so) each season to give the ground underneath time to assimilate the seed debris and bird droppings. Keeping your feeders clean should not become a major undertaking. The degree of maintenance required is directly related to the types of birds you want to attract. A thistle feeder for goldfinches should be cleaned about once a month depending on how often it rains. Feeding hummingbirds requires cleaning at the very least, weekly, preferably more often -- two or three times a week. Sunflower and suet feeders may need to be cleaned only once a month. Feeders made of plastic, ceramic and glass are easy to clean. Wash them in a bucket of hot, soapy water fortified with a capful or two of chlorine bleach, then give them a run through your dishwasher. Use the same regimen with wood feeders, but substitute another disinfectant for the bleach so your wood won't fade. ======================================================== MATCHING THE FEED AND FEEDER TO SPECIES TUBE FEEDER WITH BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER goldfinches chickadees woodpeckers nuthatches titmice redpolls, pine siskins ADDING A TRAY TO THE TUBE FEEDER WILL ALSO ATTRACT cardinals jays crossbills purple finches white-throated sparrow house finches white-crowned sparrows TRAY OR PLATFORM FEEDER -- WITH MILLET doves house sparrows blackbirds juncos cowbirds towhees white-throated sparrows tree sparrows white-crowned sparrows chipping sparrows TRAY OR PLATFORM FEEDER -- WITH CORN starlings house sparrows grackles jays juncos bobwhite quail doves ring-necked pheasants white-throated sparrows NIGER THISTLE FEEDER WITH TRAY goldfinches house finches purple finches redpolls pine siskins doves chickadees song sparrows dark-eyed juncos white-throated sparrows FRUIT orioles tanagers mockingbirds bluebirds thrashers cardinals woodpeckers jays starlings thrushes cedar waxwings yellow-breasted chats HANGING SUET FEEDER woodpeckers wrens chickadees nuthatches kinglets thrashers creepers cardinals starlings PEANUT BUTTER SUET woodpeckers goldfinches juncos cardinals thrushes jays kinglets bluebirds wrens starlings ======================================================== SOURCES OF INFORMATION ======================================================== KATEE SEED WEBSITE: Extensive information available including "Ask The Expert" responses. http://www.kaytee.com/wild/feeding/finding.html US Fish & Wildlife Service pamphlet, "Homes for Birds," Edited by Terry Ross. For more information about attracting, feeding, and sheltering wild birds, see the Backyard Birding page: http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~tross/by/backyard.html Web Usegroups: Birder experiences with SFS allelopathy killing grass http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg0918461519931.html RE: Sunflower alleopathy: In Fine Gardening issue #37, May/June 1994, Frank Einhellig, plant physiologist of Southwest Missouri State Univ. Article Allelopathy: http://miavx1.acs.muohio.edu/dragonfly/itc/glossary.htmlx U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov/~r9mbmo/pamphlet/prob.html Excellent information can be found in the BIRDYARD website: http://home.sol.no/~tibjonn/birdyard.htm GEIS RESEARCH ARTICLE ON SEED PREFERENCES: (EXCELLENT PAPER!) http://www.wildbirdcenter.com/feedpref.htm "Feeding Preferences of Wild Birds". Here are the scientific facts on what birds prefer what foods, written by Aelred Geis, Ph.D., of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Dr. Geis's findings have been cited in almost every major book on bird feeding written in the last ten years, including the Ortho Series on Attracting Wild Birds, and Audubon Society Publications. Dr. Geis is now director of research for Wild Bird Centers of America. Overview of Wild Bird Feeding Aelred D. Geis, Ph.D. http://www.birdware.com/owbf.htm Secrets To Wild Bird Feeding http://www.birdsforever.com//blackoil.html Michael Price, Vancouver, BC Canada Special thanks to a lovely lady librarian for her efforts on my behalf, who will remain nameless here, but knows who she is. Experiences of birder friends. To all, thank you very much. ============================= end =============================