correct bird-food for nuthatches?

I have just sat near a birdfeeder in our garden, and watched whilst 3 nuthatches waited their turn to feed on our 4-season birdseed mix. Each one hoiked out bits, before finding what they wanted, and flying off. There is the occasional peanut in the mix, but the birds are ignoring the nut-feeders, and queuing for the seed-feeder.
I'm getting through so much seed mix, and there's lots of discard going to waste (or being eaten by my dogs!). Anyone know what it might be that they are searching for? Could it be sunflower seeds? If I can get a feeder set up that will keep them happy, I'll save money too!

 

they like "large meaty seeds" apparently

I found this;
The name nuthatch comes from the old English word "nuthack," which referred to the bird's eating habits: When nuthatches eat a sunflower seed or a nut, they often wedge it into a bark crevice and hack it open.

The bird could also have been named "nut-store," since it often takes food from the feeder and stores it in bark crevices for later use, even covering the stored food with a piece of bark or lichen. You can easily see them do this if you follow them when they leave your feeder.

it seems like its probably sunflower seeds/hearts he's after

 

ty RandyRos! I could hear a cracking noise in the nearby trees, so suspected they were flying off to crack a shell. I will buy some sunflower seeds, and an appropriate feeder tomorrow...
Never seen 3 queue up to eat like that before though! (I spotted 2 pairs when we first moved in, a month ago, so could be a fledgling tagging along with parents?)

 

I've only had Nuthatches a couple of times in the garden and they have always gone for the peanut feeder not the Sunflower seeds! Perhaps like us they have different tastes.

 

hmmmm - back from the shop with sunflower seed & feeder, and I'm still not convinced, RandyRos. When I put the feeder up, I saw that under the mixed-seed feeder there was about 1 inch of discarded seeds, including a lot of sunflower seed.

I'm wondering if I've got stoopid nuthatches, who don't know to go for the nut-feeder, rather than the seed-feeder!

 

Nuthatches are extremely wasteful and extravagent Sian. It's just as well they are such a handsome bird to watch. Plenty of sparrows,dunnocks,robins and pidgeons will be happy to hoover up for you !!
I think sunflower seeds are favourite amongst most of the seed feeders. So much goodness in the seed to build them up for the months ahead.

 

I was only going by what I found on ebay, I've never even seen a nuthatch!

 

google, not ebay

 

Wow!! You should keep an eye out for them, RandyRos, they're stunning birds (and around more than people realise, I think), but I've decided they are also fussy, messy and stoopid on bird-feeders!

 

thought I'd better let you see one of the birdies!

 

Yep, a Belgian nuthatch. Lovely,
Jenny