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

I researched this and google claim that squirrels do not like these seeds, but birds love them. It’s true! The squirrels have touched this birdseed and the birds do love it. This is the answer to keeping squirrels out of your bird beater!

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.

This safflower seed has been a great addition to my backyard feeding routine. It attracts a variety of birds, especially cardinals, but what I really love is that it seems to discourage squirrels from raiding the feeder—they’re far less interested in this than sunflower seeds. (I still leave sunflower seeds out for my squirrels! I just want to be sure something is left undisturbed for the birds.)The seed comes clean and well-packaged, and it pours easily into different types of feeders. If you're looking to attract songbirds while minimizing squirrel interference, this is a great option to try.

I have been using this seed for over a year. Birds love it! So do squirrels! At least my squirrels do! Would give it 5 stars except for the claim that squirrels don't like it. They love it! I have noticed that the crackles do not like it.

Nice seed. Good color, and the Velcro closure on the bag is a very nice touch. Reusing it for other seeds.I got Safflower seed to discourage the squirrels from mobbing my feeder. I seem to have found one of the only ones that can tolerate the taste of Safflower seeds.But he's a little guy, and hasn't brought any friends, so I tolerate him.My Cardinal and Carolina Wren friends just love the seed. Very pleased.

This bird seed was great! It didn’t attract the squirrels that were driving my nuts. It was exactly what I needed

The cardinals have been flocking to my feeders since I started putting this out. That tells me this seed must be fresh and of good quality. They are coming back multiple times each morning for second, third, fourth helpings. The best thing is, the squirrels pay no attention to it, so there is plenty for the juncos, pine siskin, and chickadees too! It’s a pretty good value, so I will continue to purchase this product for my backyard birds.

This seed seems to be the most attractive to the greatest variety of birds.