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In a perfect world, we’d all have plenty of time on our hands to learn about and study everything we need to know about the world around us. But most people barely have enough time to breathe, let alone understand all they’ll need to know about safflower bird seed.
Guess what? I’m here to help.
Over the years, through testing and research, I’ve learned how to choose the best brands when picking out bird seed. I’ve developed a set of comprehensive categories that I use to expertly analyze and test dozens of bird seeds.
And my results have been a great boon to me and my readers.
The critical areas used during testing and analysis include:
- How tasty and enjoyable it is
- Whether or not it provides birds with ample energy
- How messy it is
- Whether or not it contains high quality nutrients
- How easy it is to consume
- Whether or not the retailer sells fresh or stale products
My goal is to present my readers with this valuable information through full and complete testing, comparing and contrasting with multiple products, and personal research.
Using all of this information, I’ve determined that Wild Delight Safflower Seed is the Best Safflower Seed and your backyard birds are going to love it.
Wild Delight Safflower Seed
- Weight: 10 pounds
- Feeder Type: Tube, Tray, Hopper
- Dimensions: 14.5” x 12.75” x 5”
- Attracts: Cardinals, Grosbeak, Woodpeckers
- Brand: Wagner’s
Overall Score:
88
The Bottom Line:
I gave this product my highest recommendation because it checks all the boxes as far as quality is concerned. Safflower seeds have high oil content, which means the birds eating it will absorb lots of energy. Cardinals and other songbirds seem to love it, but it also scares away squirrels, grackles, starlings, and jays which means I get to see more of my favorite birds all the time.What’s Good
- Bitter taste repels squirrels
- Premium seeds
- High oil content
- Attracts an array of songbirds
- Dust free formula
What’s Bad
- Some birds dislike the bitter taste
- Deters jays and grackles
- More expensive than other brands
Our Verdict: Wild Delight Safflower Seed
Getting down to business…
Wild Delight Safflower Seed was the best product in my opinion for a few reasons, but I particularly liked the fact that it wasn’t very messy.
I don’t know about you, but I get tired of cleaning up bird seed shells and spilled seeds below and around my bird feeders. I prefer to purchase the least messy seeds to make my life a little bit easier. But at the same time, it has to taste good and be appealing to my favorite backyard friends.
As far as taste is concerned, all safflower seeds including this brand have a bitter taste. This is a good thing because certain birds, like cardinals, absolutely love these bitter seeds. And if you had a tough time getting cardinals to come to your feeders in the past, this seed should definitely help with the problem.
On the other hand:
Squirrels, grackles, and starlings also dislike these bitter seeds. My feeders are often under attack from squirrels except when I have safflower seeds within. And grackles tend to hog the birdseed as well, but only when it doesn’t contain any safflower seeds.
So, overall, I have no problem recommending Wild Delight Safflower Seed because it’s a high-quality product that my favorite birds seem to really enjoy and appreciate.
Be sure to read our Buyer’s Guide To Selecting The Best Bird Seed For Your Bird Feeders
Our Analysis, Comparisons & Test Results
As we embark upon this journey, it’s time to delve deeper into the comparison and testing phase of the review. Although I determined Wild Delight Safflower Seed to be the best safflower seed, I didn’t come to this conclusion lightly.
As a matter of fact, I tested it thoroughly and then tested other brands of safflower seed to understand the full picture. And then I analyzed each brand of safflower seed based on the six categories that I talked about.
The products that I tested the Wild Delight seeds against include:
- Meadow Ridge Farms Safflower Bird Seed
- Wagner’s Safflower Seed
Even though these brands are very popular – and rightfully so – I still believe that I made the right call by choosing the Wild Delight seeds.
But I’ll let you be the judge. I’ve shared my reasons for making this choice below. Follow along and see if you come to the same conclusion.
Energy
Believe it or not, this is the hardest category to judge.
How so?
Well, it’s not like I can have a conversation with the cardinals that swing by my bird feeders for a bite to eat. I wish I could ask them why they liked the Wild Delight Safflower Seed better than the other brands. And I also wish I could ask them how much energy it provided them.
But here’s what I could do…
I put on my thinking cap and began researching these products. What I particularly liked was that Wild Delight offers a really good safflower seed that contains a high amount of oil content.
As we may or may not know, oil content contains healthy fats. And healthy fats provide birds with lots of additional energy. So, it makes sense that these seeds are going to pack a powerful energetic punch for the birds because of this amazing oil.
Do the other products contain the same oil? Yes, they do, but I always felt like the Wild Delight seeds were fresher and they looked better than the other brands.
And best of all… The birds really seem to love them – at least the ones that like safflower seeds!
How the Wild Delight Safflower Seed stacks up in the energy ratings:
Freshness
And speaking of freshness…
I gave this product a 90 out of 100 rating in the Freshness category.
Personally, I never had a problem with the levels of freshness that my safflower seeds had after being delivered to my door by my favorite online retailer. But, in all fairness, I have read stories from a few other customers that did experience freshness issues, and in particular, they had stale seeds.
As I’ve said, I like to take as much information as I can gather into consideration when determining how I rate a particular product.
As an example, let’s look at Wagner’s Safflower Seed for a moment.
I ordered this product twice and had it delivered to my house both times. The first time I had it delivered, the seeds looked perfectly fresh and really healthy to boot. The second time I had it delivered to my house, the seeds were a bit old and a bit stale.
Obviously, I couldn’t give this product a great rating since in my limited experience they delivered stale seeds 50% of the time.
But at the same time, I have to determine that this was a fluke and it probably doesn’t happen that often because Wagner’s is a good company and they are well respected in the bird industry.
How the Wild Delight Safflower Seed stacks up in the freshness ratings:
Messiness
In the Messiness category, I also gave Wild Delight Safflower Seed an excellent 90 out of 100 rating. Believe it or not, 90 out of 100 is the best rating in this category because every bird seed is a little bit messy. It kind of goes with the territory.
Although…
I’m happy to admit that Wild Delight seeds do not contain shells, which makes this seed much less messy than sunflower seeds. With sunflower seeds, the birds crack open the shells and the shells drop to the floor and leave a big mess under the bird feeder.
That is not what happens with the Wild Delight seeds by any stretch of the imagination.
But here’s what happens…
As the birds eat this seed, it falls out of their beak or they accidentally knock it out of the bird feeder while they are eating. This spillage tends to build up on the floor if you leave it there for too long.
With other seeds, you can expect squirrels and other ground dwelling animals to eat the evidence before you have to clean up the mess. But since these seeds are too bitter, squirrels and raccoons avoid them because they don’t like the taste.
How the Wild Delight Safflower Seed stacks up in the messiness ratings:
Nutrient Quality
Let’s take a closer look at Nutrient Quality.
My overall rating will sound very familiar at this point because I gave it a 90 out of 100.
Why did I come to this particular conclusion?
First off, I like the overall nutrient profile of these seeds. It’s very similar to black oil sunflower seeds, striped sunflower seeds, and sunflower chips.
The nutrient profile is made up of the following components:
35% Crude Fiber
24% Crude Fat
14% Crude Protein
This particular combination of fat, protein, and fiber appears to be the natural nutrient ratios needed to help backyard birds maintain excellent health and longevity.
So, when I see seeds that provide this particular nutrient density, I know that I’m dealing with a nutrient-rich bird food that my wild birds are definitely going to love.
Second, in particular, I like the fat content. As I mentioned, this level of fat provides birds with lots of excess energy. And these little guys need it because they expend a tremendous amount of energy flapping their wings throughout the day.
So, between the combination of healthy nutrients and even healthier fats, I feel that Wild Delight Safflower Seeds are a great choice for many types of backyard birds.
How the Wild Delight Safflower Seed stacks up in the nutrient quality ratings:
Taste & Enjoyment
To mix things up a bit, I finally gave Wild Delight Safflower Seeds a different overall rating for the category Taste & Enjoyment. And if you’ve been paying attention, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that I rated this product with an 80 out of 100.
Were you paying attention? No. That’s okay because I’ll explain my reasoning as well.
I shaved 2 points off of the total score because of the bitter taste that these seeds have to offer. Although they are very healthy and many birds love them, there are also a wide range of birds that will not eat them because they are so bitter.
In fact, the birds that really enjoy and strongly prefer safflower seeds include:
Cardinals
Finches
Other birds willing to eat them from time to time include:
- Jays
- Chickadees
- Titmice
- Grosbeaks
- Nuthatches
- Woodpeckers
- Doves
As you can see, a few birds love them and a number of other birds will tolerate them if there is nothing else to eat.
The birds that do not like them at all include:
- Goldfinches
- Juncos
- Grackles
- Starlings
- Blackbirds
- House Sparrows
It’s a mixed bag as you can tell. So, I had to knock a few points off of the overall rating, but ultimately these are good seeds that many birds enjoy.
How the Wild Delight Safflower Seed stacks up in the taste & enjoyment ratings:
Wild Delight Safflower Seed FAQs:
Do Cardinals Enjoy Eating Safflower Seeds?
Yes, I am happy to say that cardinals like safflower seeds. Whenever I put these seeds in one of my bird feeders, I always know that I’m going to have one or more cardinals visiting my backyard in short order.
If you’ve struggled to attract cardinals thus far, you definitely need to set up a feeder with safflower seeds in it. Either set up a feeder dedicated strictly to safflower seeds or buy a superb blend like Wagner’s Deluxe Wild Bird Food with safflower seeds in it.
Will Safflower Seeds Grow Into Flowers When Dropped Or Scattered On The Ground?
Are you thinking about attempting to grow safflower seeds into flowers in your backyard? Maybe you plan to start a bird seed garden. This is always a nice option to try if you have extra space in your backyard that you can dedicate to creating a new garden.
The wonderful thing about planting safflower seeds is when the flowers grow, they actually make an excellent source of food for birds that are foraging in your backyard. So, not only will you develop a fun and exciting outdoor hobby, you’re also providing an excellent food source to many of the wild birds in your community.
These plants really thrive in well-drained and sunny areas. You do not need to water them often because they only require minimal amounts of water. And believe it or not, they thrive tremendously in dry and arid conditions.
Do Grackles, Starlings, And Blackbirds Avoid Safflower Seeds?
Yes, blackbirds, starlings, and grackles do not prefer the bitter taste of safflower seeds, so they tend to avoid them more often than not. Although this isn’t true in every case because blackbirds are an exception every so often.
If hungry enough, blackbirds will eat safflower seeds as long as there are no other seeds present that they enjoy eating. They will eat safflower seeds as a last resort to fill themselves up and get extra energy.
Sometimes birds have to take in calories however they can get them. And if safflower seeds are the only option, then blackbirds are smart enough to take advantage of this nutrient source while it lasts.
Our Final Verdict: Wild Delight Safflower Seed
I appreciate that you took the time to read the entirety of this review. Thanks for stopping by. I hope the information that I provided was informative and entertaining.
I personally have no trouble recommending Wild Delight Safflower Seed because when I rated the product it scored highly in every category. But most important of all, the birds seem to like it the best out of the three products that I tested before writing this review.
In fact, they liked it so much that I consider this product the Best Safflower Seed based on the totality of my research and experience. I highly recommend Wild Delight Safflower Seed because:
- It attracts so many beautiful cardinals and finches to my backyard. I used to struggle with getting cardinals to make an appearance until I started putting safflower seeds in my bird feeders.
- The bitter taste keeps squirrels and other ground feeding animals in check. More often than not, these little guys will eat the bird seed and save little of it for the birds themselves. The bitterness in these seeds is like an added layer of protection keeping the squirrels at bay.
- It contains healthy oils and an excellent nutrient profile perfect for many songbirds and other perching birds. It’s the healthiest choice for these beautiful winged creatures.
Are you planning to increase your bird seed variety in the near future? I’ve tested dozens over the previous months and years. I narrowed my favorites down to 10 rock solid, highly recommended bird seeds that I’d like to share with you today. Read about my findings here: Guide To The Best Bird Seed
Another thing to consider…
You can learn from customer testimonials while discovering real time prices for Wild Delight Safflower Seed by clicking the link.
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