We leave all our seedheads rather than our former practice of deadheading in our days as ornamental gardeners. Our reward is being able to enjoy seeing birds eating the seeds, just as nature intended.
A bonus is that rather than providing only purchased seeds in bird feeders, providing natural seeds throughout the yard is healthier for the birds. It distributes birds throughout the yard and also makes them less of a target for predators.
Goldfinches are over-represented here because 1) I noticed them and they tended to stay put when I tried to take photos, and 2) because as one of the few almost-vegetarian birds they’re always eating seeds.
Here are some of the birds we’ve enjoyed watching:
Goldfinches eating aster seeds
A junco eating Northern sea oats and a song sparrow eating switch grass seeds
Goldfinch eating evening primrose seeds and a chickadee eating seeds from a hemlock cone
Goldfinches eating seeds from native thistles — yes, the real thistle seeds, not from a plastic bag!
Asters and Rudbeckia triloba seeds
Goldfinches eating purple coneflower seeds and liatris seeds
Juncos eating aster seeds and hyssop seeds
Goldfinches eating hyssop seeds
A goldfinch favorite: Greenhead coneflower seeds (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Juncos eating R. triloba seeds
