I read another bird forum and a gentleman on that one referred to juncos and finches as "pigs with wings".
Although there is a ring of truth to it, I was insulted because those are the only ones that visit our yard!
{{!gwi}}
We use these feeders and could fill them 4 times a day.

I also use the socks which are used almost exclusively by goldfinches this year (last year the pine siskins were all over). There's a lot of spillover, which makes juncos and other sparrows very happy. Not to mention the mourning doves, and the turkeys. Turkeys were a big problem when one sock dangled down within reach - the turkeys discovered they could peck a hole in the sock and empty it down to the ground, where they sucked it all up.

As for your original question "How much does a single bird eat in a day any way?", I don't know the answer, but I had 18 goldfinches on the socks this morning and they have been diligently working at lowering the levels.

Claire

I read up on the gold finches. Apparently they are not adapted for the cold. They have no fat and so get by by eating a lot. This is also true for the tree sparrow. This explains why they both have been pigging out on the sock.

My experience is that birds will eat whatever I put out..more feeders mean more birds and more food eaten.
I finally took down all but one tube and one suet feeder to limit bird numbers and food output. My heated bird bath is a main attraction though..birds LOVE drinking warm water since it conserves their calories

sissyz: I like the look of those feeders. Where did you get them? Wish we would get some juncos here. When we lived in the city we had them but here on the farm we never get them, or at least I've never seen one. Marg