I think those are House Finches, Gil. Purple Finches are very red all over including the underside and the back just above the tails and a red wash throughout all the wing streaks. I've read them described as 'the whole bird looks like its been dipped in raspberry juice'. I have 3 males and several females at the moment in my yard and am hoping they stay around. Konrad, I'm fairly certain yours is also a House Finch as well. I find they vary greatly in the amount of red or orange present on the head, neck and breast. I have had a very special visitor the last couple of days - a European Goldfinch. I managed to get some poor quality photos today, mostly so I could ask the experts for ID which I got today. Gonna be trying to get a better photo, but in the meantime, this is what it looks like. Here is a link that might be useful: Photo of European Goldfinch

Gldno, great photo; what kind of camera are you using? Count me in as another birdwatcher/birdfeeder, though like Mimi, I don't set the table year round. At Thanksgiving I start putting out black oil sunflower seeds in several tube feeders and will also hang suet or tallow if it's really cold. I take them up by St Patrick's. We have many mature trees and several shrubs around the house as well as a number of boxes and birdhouses and I've noticed that fighting over the feeders interferes with nest building. So, I'm happy to help out in the winter, but once it's spring, they're on their own. I only feed BOSS; the Finches like it as well as the considerably more expensive Thistle, and I figure if the birds are just hankering for corn, they can (and do) flit down among the chickens for a little scratch. Our Grandson usually makes a couple of peanut butter pine cone bird feeders each year for Christmas too. Have you done Cornell's Great Backyard Bird Count? It's a four day, nationwide event that consists of individuals simply looking out their window and counting how many birds (and what species) are hanging around. You don't have to count from your home; anywhere you see birds is good. You can spend as little as 15 minutes on one afternoon, or several hours each day if you have the time. You fill in a different report for each day which is why there are two reports for Bowlegs, although I was the only person participating. I'd like to change that this year, and get the local school science class or at least the 4H group involved. We live on a farm with a good pond, surrounded by open fields and woods that sits at least a half mile from the nearest house, so we have a nice diversity of native birds all winter, everything from Roadrunner and Turkey Vultures to Juncos and Goldfinch. When you add in all the domestic chickens underfoot, it's pretty lively out there. :^) Here is a link that might be useful: Great Backyard Bird Count FAQ

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.

See THIS POST. tj