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Goldfinches are gone

15 years ago

Head up, my northern friends. The goldfinches left my part of Texas last week (Montgomery, about an hour north of Houston). Suddenly my feeders are deserted! There are a few stragglers - one little finch who seems to be injured and has a hard time flying, a couple of others who look okay but didn't migrate.

Now what do I do with all this thistle seed?

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Comments (8)

kendra2003
15 years ago
While I have Goldfinches year round, that might explain why I'm suddenly inundated with them. The weather has been awful here in MA. We've had bucketloads of rain and wind. The poor little things are out there looking absolutely soaked. I'm counting between 36 and 46 soaked little Goldfinches at my feeders at any given time.
Elly_NJ
15 years ago
Thank you, Texas :)
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SK, great little vid! It clearly shows one of the things I find most endearing about titmice. Their tiny beaks aren't strong enough to crack a sunflower seed like a cardinal does, so they tend to take the seeds one at a time to a nearby branch, hold them between their feet and hammer away at them until the seed cracks open and they can get the meat. So cute! Scott, the goldfinches can show up in your yard at various times, since their migration back north can be affected by weather and other factors. The easiest thing to do is keep plenty of regular birdseed mixes (heavy on black oiler sunflower seeds) in your feeders and watch for them. When you see a few at the feeder, you can hang out your thistle socks for them. (They will readily eat normal seed mixes, though they love thistle the best.) They will often spend such a long time in my yard that I get to watch them molt into their breeding plumage. They arrive gray and black, begin to get yellow spots here and there, and then leave bright canary yellow and black. It's really neat. Good luck! Marcia
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Comments (71)
For years I had a tube feeder full of nyjer seed, but sparrows used it more than anything else. Only once in a while I would see a goldfinch eating from it. A month ago I replaced the tube feeder with a sock. There was an immediate increase in goldfinches, with up to a few of them on it several times the first week. After one week there was a big increase in goldfinches and it has not let up yet. There are almost always 1-4 goldfinches on the sock and several times, including today, there have been 8-12 fighting each other to get a space on the sock. They are such beatiful birds and it is great to see so many of them now. I hang the sock from my tree about 6 feet from the ground and so far I've never seen any squirrels messing with it.
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Comments (25)
Have a couple of questions about using well water to fill a pool. Our outside spickets run on well water...I have never truly tested it for long runs, but generally the first 2-3 minutes I run the pump I get rust that generally clears up 99% after it's running...my best guess is that the sleeve they used to run the pump lines down 60' to my source of water has rusted, they must have used steel not the kind that won't rust.... I have a lot of water in our well b/c it taps into an underground river...I did buy a house filtration system that I can hook up between two hoses and check the filters for rust, but what considerations should I know before I fill it up? Pebble sheen is supposed to go in on Thursday..any help would be appreciated! We do have the option of running the city water into it, but it means unhooking the washing machine (which I'll desperately need the next 3 days) and running hoses around...even considered calling my local volunteer fire dept..any ideas?? Thanks! Tara
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whatsthepoint
15 years ago
I'd be throwing the seed in my freezer for when they come back.
springlady
Original Author
15 years ago
Good idea about the freezer, I'll do it since I have almost a full bag. BTW, I have the wounded goldfinch in a box...it has no tail. Do tail feathers grow back?

If she survives the night I'll get her a cage and try to nurse her along but honestly, I don't think she'll make it. Survival of the fittest is harsh.
dzyg
15 years ago
Hmm, never knew they migrated as here in WI we have them year round. We had a flock of about 30 this Winter.

Donna
paulsiu
15 years ago
I am in IL and I think mines are here all year around. they haven't been coming to the feeder as much since the weather has improved. I just use the nyjer seeds on the ground feeder. The other birds like them but the squirrels do not, which means it actually managed to last the day without rodents eating it all.
whatsthepoint
15 years ago
Do you have a wildlife center near you or a bird sanctuary? Maybe your animal control officer can point you in the right direction if you catch the bird.
jannd
15 years ago
I'm in Northern Calif. and I have goldfinches mostly in winter and spring. I'm still getting at least a dozen a day on my sock feeders, down from maybe 15-20 per day a month ago, but still many.

Jann

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