A grassy lawn is a nice place to relax. However, if you are starting from scratch, it is important to keep the seeds safe as they germinate. Many gardeners who intend to start a new lawn have asked this question, do birds eat grass seeds?
The answer is yes; grass seed contains nutrients, minerals, and vitamins which are an important part of a bird’s diet. Finches, Sparrows, Starlings, and blackbirds eat grass seeds as their natural food.
Do Birds Eat Grass Seed?
Birds have a high vision and are attracted to food particles on the ground, such as grass seed in your garden. When birds are hungry, they search for food everywhere, including digging holes in lawns to get insects.
Birds like eating grass seeds due to their solid and stout beaks. Some seeds usually have a hard coating as an adaptation to prevent birds and other animals from eating them. Unfortunately, grass seeds are not tough enough to prevent the birds from eating them.
Birds also like eating grass seeds due to their small sizes; they easily fit in their beak. Once they discover the presence of grass seeds somewhere, they camp there and attract more birds to come and feed on the grains.
Using coated seeds is one of the ways to stop birds from eating your grass seed. Unlike natural grass seeds, which are ideal food items for birds, coated grass seeds are treated to prevent the birds from eating them.
They are coated with pesticides and hydrophilic coating, making them non-palatable to birds. They are non-toxic for bird consumption, although they have a risk of digestion problems. Therefore, they are less likely to be eaten by birds.
Are there Grass Seeds Birds Won’t Eat?
Grain-eating birds are not selective when it comes to grass seeds. Wood pigeons, finches, sparrows, and blackbirds will eat any grass seeds they come across, ranging from ryegrass to fescue. They find all types of grass seeds appealing and tasty.
Even if there is plenty of other foods, such as wild seed, nuts, berries, and earthworms, birds won’t pass grass seeds that are scatted on the ground. Birds won’t eat grass seeds only if they are coated with a repellant that gives the seeds an unpleasant taste for birds.
Birds are visual animals and are attracted to visible food particles, such as a freshly seeded lawn. They will patch nearby trees, shrubs, buildings, and fences before landing down to feast on the seeds. Fortunately, there are different ways you can use to keep the birds from eating the grass seeds, as explained earlier.
Final Thoughts
Different bird species, such as starlings, sparrows, blackbirds, and finches, do eat grass seeds as part of their diet. Knowing how to keep the birds from eating grass seeds is essential. It helps to safeguard seeded lawns until they germinate.
The primary idea is to use coated seeds, fake predators, visual deterrents, noise deterrents, and motion-activated sprinklers to scare away the birds. Creating feeder points or providing the birds with alternative food sources can also help divert the attention away from the seeded area.