Mine prefer the sunflower seeds, before i got serious into feeding birds i had a thistle sock that i could not keep full but now that i offer both they pretty much ignore the thistle

I don't know anything about birding yet, however I follow my mom's lead and feed sunflower hearts. It's darn expensive but overall I have to agree with her that it's actually quite economical because it lasts that much longer than anything else. She's been feeding birds everyday practically all her life both at work and at home.

I have yet to learn to attract other birds yet. Everything likes sunflower seed I've determined. The woodpeckers stopped completely eating any suets, more and more different kinds of birds kept arriving (and staying) so I say she's pretty much right.

I'll get my game on though this spring and summer and jazz it up a bit around here. Feed em oranges and stuff!!!

Dax

The goldfinches in my yard really prefer the thistle feeder. But, do they prefer thistle seed...not sure as I think all the house finches, being more aggressive, keep the goldfinches away from the sunflower feeders. However, when my sunflower plants go to seed, the goldfinches strip them clean as soon as the seeds ripen, or sometimes before.

BN

Early in spring when goldfinches first arrive here I see a few eating sunflower seeds (mostly off the ground), but 99% of the time they stick to eating from my sock feeder.

Birding_nut mentioned the possibility that the aggressive birds keep the goldies away from the sunflower feeders. I considered that because we have a ton of aggressive sparrows, but our sparrows also dominate the sock feeder (very frustrating) and the goldies will do their best to get onto the sock even as multiple sparrows harass them.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I will keep offering it anyway(a 50# bag last a while when nobody is eating it!).

I have so many feeders, and in different areas of the yard, that I don't have problems with any species bullying out another. With the exception of starlings and suet. arrrr LOL I really really hope that sunflower prices stay reasonable so that I can continue to feed over spring and summer. Last year it soared to close to $30 a 50# bag, and with gas prices being so high, groceries going up and all that there was just way I could do that. First year that I ever quit feeding in Spring and Summer. I was very scared that it would stay that high over winter and I wouldn't be able to feed :( I did a LOT of praying about that, and was so happy when the price fell to $16 a bag. When I started feeding birds in a big way back in '94 it was less than $10 a bag!

I think birding nut makes a good point. At my feeders the larger house finches monopolize the sunflower feeders. There is something else to consider. My goldfinches love the thistle socks but they do not like the tube feeders or the mesh feeders. They eat from the tube sunflower feeders but the tube and mesh thistle feeders remain full. I often notice a preference in feeder types among birds. Just something else to consider.
Marnie

Mine enjoy both but probably 2:1 thistle:BOSS. They had a period when they ignored the thistle. I ultimately replaced the sock and seed and they came back eventually. I would probably buy one of the small socks with thistle and see if they like it. There may be a mold or bacteria on your seed/sock they dislike.

When I lived in NJ, I used sunflower hearts and thistle and my finches loved both. I moved to GA and the birds wouldn't touch my sunflower hearts. Never did figure out why. I now have two feeders with a Cardinal Mix with lots of sunflower and one thistle sock. The finches clean out the sock in just a couple of days but the other feeders are well used too.

My goldfinches here in Michigan love the thistle seed and they prefer to eat from a thistle feeder. However, they will eat from the socks, as well. They will occasionally eat the BOSS, too.

There have actually been studies done on this very topic and the results should be no surprise to most people here. Goldfinches do prefer Nyjer and hulled sunflower over anything else. They will eat BOSS but its not their favorite.

If the Gold finches are not coming to your nyjer, it could be a couple of things. The seed may be old. When nyjer is too old it can get musty or it can lose its oil content. The second issue could be that when it was processed it was heated for too long or too hot and it lost its oil content. Either way, you should clean out your feeders and try fresh seed.

I think it must be the bag of seed :( What I think I will do is buy a smaller quantity bag and see if they eat it. That would pretty much tell me. I'll put some in a tube style feeder and some in the new sock feeder. There are certainly enough finches out there that it shouldn't take too long to find out.

The sock feeder is brand new. The reason why I've always put off buying those was because I was afraid of what happened to the seed when they got wet. Do you replace the sock wet seed and all if it gets wet? The tube feeders do a decent job of keeping the seed dry.

I'll pick some new thistle up this morning and let you guys know if that did the trick.

It was the seed! I bought an 8# bag, put it out and they are merrily munching away.

Think thistle really must be their favorite. They are the last songbirds of the season to breed, in late July. This is when thistle blooms and goes to seed.

Cool information.

I don't even know that a sock is? Or what the BOSS is?

Thanks,

Dax

BOSS = Black oil sunflower seed

I don't feed nyjer, just BOSS, home-made suet and raw suet. There seems to be something for everyone this way. The Goldfinches and other finches don't care for suet, but like the BOSS just fine. Last week's ProjectFeederwatch count was 18 Goldfinches, 18 Pine Siskins, and 6 House Finches.

Last year, I let some of the BOSS sprout and grow, also grew enormous Mammoth Grey stripe Sunflowers. I observed Goldfinches, Warblers, and Chickadees on the BOSS seedheads, and many different types of birds and squirrels/chipmunks loved the Mammoth grey stripe. It is a lot cheaper to grow these, vs. purchase the seed.

Btw, Niger/Nyjer or whatever it's called is NOT thistle (Cirsium species). It is Guizotia abyssinica, an herb grown in Africa and India and imported to the US from these countries. Goldfinches do love the actual Thistle, but care should be taken if growing these plants - they are very prickly and quite a few are classified as noxious weeds.

Yeah, I had read that somewhere before terrene. I suppose I really should start referring to it as Nyjer. Old habits die hard I guess. Makes you wonder why it got tabbed as thistle seed to begin with - the african plant that it comes from is TOTALLY different from our thistle. Maybe the seeds looks similar?

Anyway, the goldfinches are eating the Nyjer now, from both style feeders. I have been pulling the sock feeder in at night and if it is rainy out to try and protect the seed from getting wet.

Guess I need to dump that old bag of Nyjer.

The bluebirds are house hunting :) Time for me to pull the boxes, give them a good scrub, make sure they are sound and ready to go.

I just bought a goldfinch thistle sock at Walmart and hung it off our deck..........our "regular birdfeeder is now hanging about 2 feet away

it WILL get wet..........!!

just dawned on me, so you hang it under cover or eaves somewhere?

I would think the seed will spoil fast when wet.

Help appreciated

Im my experience, the goldfinch have enjoyed a regular tube feeder for thistle, as they have tiny openings harder for the house sparrows to get into. Also, regarding suet for woodpeckers, the other birds will be less inclined to eat raw suet, as there are no seeds, nuts, fruit etc. to get to. The woodpeckers adore it. It completely deters squirrels, so they last me weeks and save tons of money. I live in Michigan and get my suet at Wild Birds Unlimited. You can cut the suet block by refrigerating it and cutting with a hot knife. (Just run the blade under hot water) I get 5 cakes from one 6 dollar block, and each cake lasts for two to three weeks.

Mine ignore the expensive thistle and go for the BOSS. So much for trying to please the birds!

Today, I think for the first time this year, one of my male goldfinch regulars brought his four youngsters to my nyjer socks. I thought it was odd to see four+ goldies on a sock without fighting, but then realized the male was feeding the others.

bhk, my two nyjer socks certainly get wet. I just only fill them so the birds can finish the seed within a week or two. I've also been flipping the socks to loosen the seed after it rains so it dries more easily and doesn't clump. The biggest downside to having socks hang in the rain is they turn brown where the seed touches them. I bleach/scrub the socks once in a while to clean/whiten them.