DaisyFace,
Well.....sit right down and I'll tell you the "ART" of Southern bird feeder attraction rules.
First of all - not all Southern birds will come to feed on any feeder. No sir. Er' Ma'am. You have to have just the right kind of feeder. Then you have to have just the right kind of seed. Not just any grocery store seed either. No, naw, no, naw, no. Now there's seed mix for song birds, seed mix for your little finches, gncos, seed mix for your nuthatches, and your titmouse, and your Orioles, and your woodpeckers, and your wrens. Then you have to consider your Doves (love to eat what's on the ground - throw regular millet on the ground for them), your Cardinals, Tanagers, your Jays, your fruit lovers.
Then there are squirrels if you really WANT squirrels to come into your yard - because they are SO destructive here. OMG I want to tell you about the most rude flying tree rats I have ever known! WOW - ate my swing, my bird houses are all welled out, my bird feeders are chewed up, my house, my roof, my trees, my flower bulbs, my bird water dishes, even my plastic squirrels! Dreadful little buggers for feeding them they aren't very gracious.
A lot of the seeds that you get? Corn.....Corn isn't a favorite of most birds. What they really like after a long flight or cold weather? Black sunflower seeds, mixed with Safflower, millet, some dried fruit, and the Jays LOVE peanuts. Now your finches? OMG they LOVE the thistle seed and Niger seed. It's spendy so either get the feeder that is specifically for that seed or a sock. I get the sock from Walmart and hang them when I can afford to. Also - We MAKE our own suets. We find pine cones and tie fishing strings on them - let them open in the warm of the house (they'll close again in the cold sometimes) and roll them in cheap peanut butter, then pour bacon grease over that and roll in bird seed then hang.....or if you want just buy them - usually $2.00 and get a cage so that the birds have something to hang on while eating. The little nuthatches and titmouses love this. Jncos love that too. The wrens like just the cheap old millet. Cardinals like the black-oil sunflower seeds and will sit and sit for that.
If you have seed that they are NOT eating? And you have a woods? Two things come to mind. #1 - you have a cat that is watching and you do not see the cat or dog. #2 - you have purchased some old last years seed and the birds can smell mildew in it and won't eat it. THROW it out in a patch in the woods and see if it sprouts in the spring and get some millet that way.
I used to buy all the #50lb bags of different stuff and mix it myself when I had a little more money. Now I have a cat that thinks the feeders are for HER entertainment and well -----the birds are not that dumb.
Also they like to make sure that there is a fresh source of water for them to get a drink from. And a safe high place to roost - eat - roost - eat.
Where you are? I don't think you have to worry about bears too much. You can call the DNR in your area and ask just to be sure of sightings and they'll know. But foxes, bobcats, weasles, martins also eat birds....other birds of prey also eat birds too. That's why I recommend getting a covered /platform bird feeder so they can eat without being bothered and if squirrels bother you - put a slinky on the post - lol. That's worth the money you pay to watch them try to get up to the feeder.
If you want squirrels? Cob corn. And black sunflower seeds. OMG - and the peanuts. WOW. Just watch your lawn furniture and cushions.