I do feed goldfinches, but only in the winter, because they leave when the weather starts to warm up a little. I do buy niger seed for them, but I also feed black oil sunflower seeds. I have 9 feeders up right now and they are like little bees....all over them. Seems they will start off with about 6 birds, next day 12, next day 24, and they seem to double. I put sunflower seeds in a squirrel feeder and they eat them in there too, and in fact, I just had to stop at the one by my gate and pick up a little finch who got in the jar and couldn't figure how to get out....and that's an almost every day occurance.

Unfortunately, those are the only finches I've ever seen here. We do have lots of doves, chickadees, titmice, blue jays and cardinals all year round.

I have nyger seed for them in the sock things. I also have homade suet cakes in that tree. I have black oil sunflower seeds on my deck feeder but the finches never seem to be around there. I might have to get another feeder for the front.

Pictures, please.

We used to have lots and lots of doves, but I think the crows have eliminated them. I hate crows!

I still have hummingbirds, which I feed year round. We also have the sparrow looking birds with orange-red on the tops of their heads.

Ours are eating us out of house and home, niger and sunflower seeds. I hate buying that expensive thistle seed but they're hungry and it's been cold, so I do it. I just wish they'd pace themselves. Numbers seem about the same, though.

I had a very busy heated bird bath yesterday- standing room only for huge robins and very polite cedar waxwings with the most gorgeous colors and markings. And finches and all the usual birds, too.

Sheila, are the "sparrow looking birds with orange-red on the tops of their heads" redpolls? Rather small, as I recall, and more black & white than brown & white. When I hand tamed our wild birds at our last house, a flock of redpolls flew in and landed on my shoulders, etc, just like the local birds. I was so impressed that they trusted me because the others did.

Anyway, I tried to photograph some of the goldfinches from inside the house, but I didn't do a very good job. These guys are under one of the feeders. Seed drops from the feeder, plus I throw out a few handfuls of sunflower seed and cracked corn.

I'd feed the sunflower seeds, but then the squirrels would have a field day. As it is, I keep on feeder specially for thistle nyger seed, and I keep that full. But the other feeder takes mixed seed, and the squirrels are bad, so I don't keep it full all the time.

And yes, this time of year is prime for the finches here. Every year, right at this time. I love them!

No, these birds are brown. I will have to get out my bird book and see if I can find them again.

Susan...you have a mixed flock there (and WOW...what a big group!!!!) I see more Pine Siskins than Goldfinches (for some folks they are hard to distinguish from one another)...the Siskins are so lovely, such sweet little birds...we have tons of them here again this year......thanks for your beautiful pic.....

Kat, thanks so much for the info. You have a good eye! I got out my bird book to see what the Pine Siskins look like, and found that I'd checked them off at some point. I've had this book for 30+ years, so I guess there was a time when I recognized the Siskins. This year I thought they were the winter female form of the Goldfinch.

So I have to say it's the Pine Siskins that have appeared so tame.

Here's that bunch from the photo above, after they were startled.

Yes I feed Njer seed, the other finch food, and an assortment of seeds, nut and berry mix, suet cakes and whatever shows up in the yard gets fed. I never saw any of the crows go after the mourning doves, the hawk gets one every once in a while. Yes, the squirrels get fed too, they also get hungry in this weather and can't burrow to their stash, which most likely the jays already found 5 minutes after they burried it in fall.
For some reason I don't have as many rosy finches this year and the purples don't show up until March. The ice storm brought the tree with the downy woodpecker nest down and I have not seen them since.

I'm enjoying so many American gold finches, pine siskins, red polls, house finches, purple finches, warblers, occasional blue jays, woodpeckers, red- and white-breasted nuthatches, and various "visitors" this winter.

I feed both black oil sunflower seed and nyjer seed, but in separate feeders.

The nyjer is in an "upside down" finch feeder, only the American gold finches can get the seed out, and then only one seed at a time. I certainly cuts down on the waste and the feeder hogs. The other thistle lovers can pick up the dropped seeds from the ground.

I offer black oil sunflower seeds in several types of feeders according to the species I'm feeding. It's the favorite seed of nearly all the birds, but certain birds prefer certain types of feeders.

I have a large hopper feeder for BOSS, and a smaller one for peanuts (for the chickadee-dee-dees and nuthatches). I also offer BOSS in a tray feeder during the coldest months, and in a mesh feeder that the woodpeckers like.

Besides the BOSS, nyjer, and a few shelled peanuts, I offer suet in four different feeders. Woodpeckers don't like to "share" and I found out by setting out more feeders I have many happy woodpeckers.

I don't know what kind of birds I have but they are very small. Not much bigger than Hummers. Thousands of them.

Then there is another bird that sounds like my dogs "squeak toy". But, I can't seem to find where he/she is. Wonder what that is?

Susan, I was surprised that all the birds that I was assuming were gold finches were in fact Pine Siskins. I discovered that about a month ago on a very cold snowey day. They are eating us out of house and home. The PS's are chowing down on niger and bos as well as some safflower now and then. In the past when we have had an eruption year (when the more northern habitat of the Siskins lacks a good pine seed crop) and the Pine Siskins invade our feeders, we also see Redpolls. I have not seen any of those little cuties this year. Is anyone else seeing Redpolls along with the Pine Siskins?

Gayle....don't know what the small birds might be but the "squeaky toy" sounding bird is probably a White-throated Sparrow....they make that little sound and are often difficult to find....heres a pic.....

I used to feed niger seed to the finches, but quit several years ago because the squirrels were destroying my expensive feeders. I just feed suet now, which the finches don't eat, but I get a large assortment of other birds (and the squirrels still get something to eat!).

that's what our snow looks like after the squirrels get though, lol...but our biggest flock ave been mourning doves...we have about 10 reg visitors...really havn't had many of the smaller birds...of course with the extreme cold we've had, i don't blame them...

Nice shot, Kat!

Caroline, after reading what you said about woodpeckers, I think I'll add a second suet feeder. I have quite a few woodpeckers, and I love to watch them.

When I stopped at the feed store for another 50 lb. bag of black oil seed, I saw woodpecker feed in 5-lb. bags. No price, but I assume it's out of my range: lots of big, chunky nuts and fruits. In fact, it looked like something I would eat. :-)

Hi Kids,

I, too, have been enjoying the Pine Siskins this year. They come with the American Goldfinch and love the sunflower hearts. They also hang on the thistle seed sock. Very sweet little birds. This is the first year we have had them.

sooey

Not great pics here. Taken from inside during a snow storm.
In the top pick look at the birds on the feeder with the green tray. The uppermost bird is a Glodfinch. All other birds are Pine Siskins. That yellow on the Siskins wings can be hard to see. The second pic, shows the flashes of yellow at the base of their tails and under the wings when they are in flight.