What Animals Eat Sunflower Seeds?

Sunflowers are bright, vibrant flowers that have no smell. Not only are they eye catching but they produce seeds that are a common snack for people. Humans are not the only members of the animal kingdom who enjoy snacking on this small seed. Many species of wild animals also enjoy this tiny snack.

Squirrels eat a variety of nuts, seeds, fruits and grains. Sunflower seeds are their second favorite after almost any type of nut.

Chipmunks are omnivores and they like sunflower seeds. If you are having problems with chipmunks raiding your bird feeders, try switching to thistle seeds instead of sunflower.

Mice like to eat a variety of plants and seeds. Sunflower seeds are just one of the many types of seeds that mice will eat when it is available to them.

There are many varieties of birds who eat sunflower seeds. Among them are doves and the common grackle. Buy stripped or black oil sunflower seeds if you want to attract only birds that enjoy these seeds.

Bears, while thought of as carnivores, are actually omnivores who love a wide variety of foods. Berries, fruits, insects, small animals and seeds. They can create havoc on agricultural crops like peanuts, corn and sunflowers by consuming the crop, but the real problems come from the fact that bears are creatures of habit. When they find a food crop, they will return to it year after year.