CHIN RIDGE SEEDS - SEPTEMBER 2026

Sunflower Chips – the Perfect September Feeder Food

By Myrna Pearman, Mother Nature’s Naturalist and Backyard Birding Expert

I enthusiastically support year-round bird feeding. While backyard birds can still find plenty of insects, spiders, worms etc. during September and beyond, many year-round resident species visit familiar and well-stocked bird feeding stations year-round, and some fall migrants may stop for a quick visit on their way south.

Most people know that sunflower seeds are the best food to offer backyard birds, and that there are two ways to serve them: shelled and unshelled.

I keep at least one feeder in my yard topped up with unshelled sunflower seeds throughout the summer because many bird species—especially chickadees, woodpeckers and nuthatches—will be regular diners. The one downside of unshelled sunflower seeds, however, is that the birds will sometimes flip out seeds or will sit on the feeder to shell the seeds, both of which result in accumulations beneath the feeder. While a few seeds on the ground aren’t usually a problem, deep piles of discarded seeds and shells are unsightly, can impede grass growth, and can attract mice and voles. Although I welcome both these small mammals into my yard, I know that most feeder enthusiasts do not want to encourage them. To reduce the mess and the risk of attracting rodents, hang feeders over mulched garden beds or place trays beneath them to intercept what falls.

The other option is to simply serve Mother Nature’s Sunflower Chips and chip blends. To obtain the chips, sunflower processors use a dehuller machine that cracks and, with centrifugal force, separates the seeds from the hulls. The resulting seeds are then sorted into whole kernels, medium-sized chips and fine chips. These hulled sunflower kernels, which are nutrient rich, are not only the mostly highly sought-after backyard food, but they are almost completely mess-free (although they do contain oil, so spillage on untreated wood might result in minor stains.)

Mother Nature’s whole chips are sold as Coarse Sunflower Chips or Sunflower Whole Kernels. Whole kernels come through the hulling process intact while medium and fine chips are both broken pieces. All are considered to be a top-tier energy source for wild birds. Mother Nature’s processing ensures that all chips are clean and waste free. My favourite Mother Nature’s summer blend is the No-Mess Gardener’s Mix, a perfect blend of various-sized chips as well as peanuts and cranberry chunks.

Sunflower chips can be dispensed from any style of feeder, ranging from covered fly-through feeders to hopper and tube feeders. Since chips are relatively expensive, dispense them from feeders that will offer protection from rain. Tube feeders with small portals will allow only the smaller birds to access the seeds, thus keeping the larger and more aggressive birds away.

Enjoy your September feeder birds!