Morning Song 11996 Black Oil Sunflower Wild Bird Food, 10-Pound

I've been buying and feeding the birds black oil sunflower seeds for years. I used to buy them at the local chain supermarket/department or home improvement stores, which ever had it the cheapest. Then, I looked on amazon. I found Morning Song and have not bought it anywhere else since. You just can't beat the price, although it has creeped up, like so many other items these days, and I think it might be a seasonal / demand thing, but I'm not sure. Anyway...sure, there are a few sticks/other plant material just like any brand of sunflower, but I would not say it's excessive and I wouldn't say it's the least, I don't really know. I haven't done an actual side by side study. I mean c'mon, it's a $40 (at the time of this comment) bag of sunflower seeds, after all. Anyone that is saying it's excessive is being picky, because it's not that obvious. What you get here, in my opinion, is a good deal. I especially like that they no longer are using pesticides on their sunflowers. Yes, they used to. Took some heat about it about 5 years ago and stopped doing it. Are these 100% organic? I don't think so, if they were, I'm sure they would advertise that prominently, so I'm assuming not. If I'm wrong about that, someone please let me know. But, so what? What does "organic" really mean anymore now that the government controls it. *refrains from lengthy rant* Again, for the price and (maybe not all) things considered you're getting a good deal. Just buy it and be happy about it.If anyone is getting a better deal, I'd like to know about it.

All in all same as most other sunflower seeds I have purchased here or elsewhere. The debris talked about by other reviewers did not create a problem in the grasping feeders I am now using to keep away the grackles and starlings. They may try but leave shortly as they prefer perching and ground feeding. That is why other feeders with openings do not work to deal with grackles as they use their large feet to shovel the feed onto the ground and then 50 or 60 grackles have a feast. The small song birds, like all the various finch species, titmouse, wrens, chickadee, and even the cardinals enjoy the debris to some degree. They chew on it, at times looks like a toothpick in their mouth. The even fly off with it at times. Very entertaining. The black oil sunflower seed is a favorite of these birds over all the more expensive seeds I have purchased. The only negative is the first time I purchased this 50 pound bag at Amazon I early August it was $29. A couple of weeks later I went to buy another bag and it was $46 and has slowly come down to $38 as of 9-14-14. I purchased a 35 pound bag at a big box store for $20. Bottom line is if you like the smaller song birds the black oil sunflower seed is great especially if put in grasping feeders. Will try to post photos of my feeders with this seed.

I was a little worry after ordering this bird seed I seen some reviews about pesticides it seem like a problem that hopefully has been fixed so I received my order and decided to give it a try it smells better than what I have purchase at the grocery store I did not smell any pesticide type smells or any chemical type smells just regular bird seed smell . I put some out by where I feed the birds and other small animals and we got a lot more birds than any other bird seed I have purchase before just in the first day we had a bunch of robins a big blue jay a female cardinal and a couple of orioles among the normal birds . The robins were coming close to my window when I had it open they came closer. I had the bag of bird seed near the window I think they could smell it and where trying to find it my cat started watching one them from in side with window closed . I think they both where having fun the robin keep walking a foot or so closer to the window then waiting looking at cat then walking some more until it just walk pass the window my cat was chattering at it the whole time I just wish I would have remembered to charge my camera I would of had a nice video

These seeds are an excellent value for the serious birder. I contacted a Scotts representative who informed me that the use of pesticides to protect these seeds from insects was discontinued in 2008 and treated seeds were recalled as part of the legal proceedings. No pesticides are currently used in the processing of these seeds. In addition, the removal of every bit of debris from the seeds is an expensive process which is passed on to the consumer as an increase in the price. If economy is a major issue for you, I suggest you use the "wire screen" type feeder rather than the "port hole" feeder type. The birds will peck out most of the stems and leaves themselves and discard it and any remaining debris can be easily dumped from the feeder each time you fill it as necessary. The debris is not an issue for me since it consists of small twigs and leaves which are very light and do not significantly detract from the weight of the seeds themselves.

Couldn’t find any large bags of sunflower seed at any store so ordered here. Very fresh and birds loved it

I don't get why some people complain about foreign debris with the seeds. Out of the entire 40lb. bag you may get enough junk to fill a cup. This is priced super well and if they keep this price the birds will get fed all year from my home. Heck, I even throw it on the ground for the squirrels and birds that prefer eating from there. I like it lots and so do the cardinals, jays, titmouse, black capped chickadee, grosbeaks, nuthatch, woodpeckers of various breeds, purple finch, yellow finch (lots too) and several large breeds of black birds. Again, the low cost helps me feed the wild life and enjoy the sounds and beauty. Can't go wrong here

These seeds are not the most cosmetically appealing, but I suppose that doesn't matter as the regular birds at my feeding station are eating them at the same rate as with other brands (previously Wild Birds Unlimited). My biggest negative on this item is that there is a lot of debris in the bag. I have never seen so much debris in bird seed before. It is a hassle to have to sort through trying to remove the large pieces so as to prevent any feeder blockage. Other than that, this is a very serviceable black oil sunflower seed brand.

Too much unusable in bottom of the bag