finch feeder

14 years ago

About 4 months ago we put out our first feeder We put out a tray feeder and the birds seem to love it. We got blue jays, finches, sparrows and woodpeckers. I saw the pics. of the finch feeder and since we had finches I decided to get one. That was 2 months ago but the finches don't seem to like it - they prefer the tray feeder. At first I thought it may be because we put it out in the garden and it was very open and windy there so we moved it to a more sheltered location - didn't help. Another possibility is that we planted a few ornamental grasses (they prefer Cloud Nine over the others) and they seem to spend a lot of time in there. I was wondering if it was the type of seed we put in the feeder? At first I thought they didn't like the niger seed but they eat it from the tray feeder. Should I switch to thistle? Marg

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Comments (8)

vampatar
14 years ago
I would try sunflowers. The finches around my house love them.
marricgardens
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks vampatar. I never thought they might like the sunflowers. I have them in the tray feeders but they are still in the shell. Is that what you use?
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chickadeemelrose
14 years ago
Hi Marg,

Interesting you should ask about this - I've been watching our feeders this morning, and our house finches go to the tray attached to our tube feeder (and the same for the purple finches when they are here)about 90% of the time.
I put black oil sunflower seed in that feeder, and the finches don't mind sharing with other birds like chickadees, cardinals, and even mourning doves.

The goldfinches, however, always go to the finch feeder nearby which is filled with nyjer seed. They love it. I've had up to 10 goldfinches on it at once. They also will go to an upside-down finch feeder, which is helpful if other birds start to be pesky around the regular finch feeder. (They can't hang upside down like the goldfinches.)

I hope this is helpful. Don't give up! I have seen more goldfinches already than I did last year.

Also - in the summer I did move the upside down finch feeder to a little side garden by itself, and the goldfinches really loved it.

Donna
marricgardens
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi Donna. We put the tube finch feeder near the tray feeder. This morning I was watching and there were 2 finches on the tube but about 15 on the tray. We are going thru a mild spell right now so finches are back. Do you keep on feeding in the summer? When we bought this place, I made sure to plant trees, shrubs and flowers that were bird friendly. Maybe that's why we get more birds then than in the winter. Marg
donald lucius
14 years ago
the finches i get love the grass seeds on the native grasses but also eat the zinnia seeds and the wild sunflowers and they love to check out the flowers and hollyhocks which attract a lot of insects. winter time they love the niger and the boss but do eat millet some.
bandjzmom
14 years ago
Hi Donna, I have House Finches, Goldfinches, and Purple Finches here. Most of my feeders are filled with BOSS only, and the finches just flock to all of them. I sometimes buy Thistle for the Goldies, but they will eat the BOSS just as well here. The thistle has gotten so expensive that BOSS is normally what they get. The other thing that they all seem to love is sunflower hearts.
chickadeemelrose
14 years ago
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.
murraysmom Zone 6a OH
14 years ago
My goldfinch feeder is away from the platform and hopper feeders. I think the goldfinches appreciate being out of the fray of all the other birds' activities. The finches have some nice bushes near their feeder that they can hang out in while waiting their turns. The goldfinches are turning olive color now and are becoming quite striking. I just love their colors.