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Hummingbird Garden

Finches at feeder???

13 years ago

I have a shepards hook outside dining room window where I have a hummingbird feeder and a bird feeder. The hummingbird hasn't seemed to mind the bird feeder being there. This morning the finches(either house or purple...not sure which ones we have here in AL) were eating at their full feeder and one kept pecking at the hummer feeder like he was getting something from it! Should I separate the 2...I don't want my hummer to stop coming by. We saw him feeding cautiously the other morning at the same time as the birds were eating. I noticed this morning the feeder was wet as if it had rained, but it must have been from the finches trying to drink nectar!! Anyone seen this happen before??

Tarilyn:)

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Comments (6)

donnalovesblue
13 years ago
Oh yes! I have house finches at my feeders everyday. (I am in MS)...I've noticed they like my Perky Pet feeders better than the First Nature brand as the portals are slanted and they rock back an forth to get the nectar.

My suggestion would be to remove the seed feeder from the shepherd's hook and place somewhere else in the yard, then add another hummer feeder to the sheperd's hook. You might want to give the First Nature brand a try and see if this discourages the finches. Love the finches but they can be a nuisance during hummer season!!!

Donna
natal
13 years ago
All of my feeders are HummZingers with built-in ant moats. The house finches like to drink from the moat, even though I have plenty of birdbaths in the yard. No problem with hummers refusing to use the feeders.
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Marg, I've been doing this for a little less than a year, so take what I say with a grain of salt! :) First, maybe you could put nyjer in the finch feeder only. Then if the finches want it, they will go there. That's if you want to continue with the nyjer. If you keep nyjer in the tray feeder they have no incentive to try the finch feeder. I do feed differently in the summer; I worry more about keeping up with the birdbaths because the birds seem to use them more. They have so much more food available to them (bugs, plants, etc.) But I do put out a fruit and jelly feeder, a no-melt suet, and nyjer and BOSS, and sometimes sunflower hearts, raisins,and berries. I do keep more food out in winter. When it snows they always come here for some seed or suet. The birds do like garden flowers and seeds even better than the foods we put out though. I came home one day to drive up and see a ton of goldfinches all over our large butterfly bush. And they love the sunflowers of course, and the bugs in the vegetable garden. I hope this has somehow been helpful. Hang in there! :) And good for you for putting the plants in - I am doing that too, and it's more work but it will be worth it. bandgsmom - thanks for your reply. All I can say is, that's the way our finches divide up at the feeders. It's been true for almost a year now. And when I put a goldfinch feeder away from the other birdfeeders last summer, they really loved that.
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luvtoogarden
Original Author
13 years ago
Cannot get them to stop!!! It's frustrating because I haven't seem my hummers in a few days. Yesterday I moved the feeder and switched out hummer feeder thinking they won't like that one and they keep coming and using it anyway. I love the finches, but I love watching the hummers more!:(
Tarilyn
bandjzmom
13 years ago
Tarilyn,
I wouldn't fret too much about it. I don't think that the House Finches will run off the Hummers. Like Donna said, they do enjoy Hummer feeders, and once they have partaken of the nectar, they tend to return to it! Go to Walmart, and purchase an inexpensive First Nature brand feeder, and try it in a different location than the one you've been using. You might also try out one of the single port tube feeders which the Finches would not be able to use. Many of them tend to leak, but I suppose it would be a solution. Either way, I don't think that the Finches will keep the Hummers away. JMHO~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful:
nursevet
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have never tried to discourage the finches. For many years, when I lived in Louisiana, I got finches at my feeders early in the Spring. Where I lived, I never got hummingbirds until around July 4. Around March or April the finches gave purpose to my efforts and enabled me to haves a hummer feeder available for the occasional migrating hummingbird. If I had not hung the feeders out in time, the finches would fly to where they were supposed to be--alerting me to set up for them. I use Perky Pet feeders with long perches and the bee guards removed. I have also been rewarded with Baltimore orioles visiting and nesting. I have never had orioles respond to oriole feeders. The only problem I never solved was when late in the season honey bees invaded and clogged up the feeders in suicidal masses. I would have to take the feeders down then. I could not bear to kill honey bees. Maybe something new will come up now that I am in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
mehitabel zone 6
9 years ago
Just enjoy the finches. I think they are after water. Mine drink out of the ant trap in the feeder. I make sure to keep that filled, and also hung an ant trap full of water out there for them, that they drink dry. Also providing water in your yard is a lure for other birds and for hummers as well.

Hummers are ferocious fighters-- there are reports of them fighting off much larger birds. They use the kamikaze method, dive bombing at about 60 miles per hour. Scaring anybody. So I agree that finches aren't going to drive off the hummers.

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