Niger Seeds

[overgrownbramble]

Just wondered about other people's experiences with feeding niger seeds.

I had goldfinches lurking when I moved in, so bought a special feeder for niger seeds for them. After about a year of trying, various locations around the garden, and many many batches of sprouted/rotted niger seeds, on a whim I just chucked the last of the latest bag of niger seed in a normal cheapie port feeder - hey presto, the next day the goldfinches were queueing up and so also the goldfinches, and now they're eating from it daily!

So I ask you, why the specialist feeders? They don't seem to spill from the ordinary ones, even in strong winds.

And I wonder how many other people have given up when maybe the seeds would have been taken from a normal feeder?

[goosey]

I bought one of the niger seed feeders last year - the sort that comes with the food , you pull off the corners and stick them into holes as little perches. Apart from actually spilling a great deal of the seed while I was sorting it out not one bird (that I saw) fed from it. Mine also sprouted shoots and I ended up chucking it. Not one of my better ideas .

[nutmeg]

I put out niger seeds in a cheap port feeder and no joy The few goldfinches that visit the garden seem to prefer seed heads - on teasels and lavender in particular.

[Gandalf]

OGB When I first got a nijer feeder I bought one with tiny holes in it (thistle-feeder) and the Goldfinches ate from it, no bother. Later I bought one with larger holes (seed-feeder) to use as a replacement. They eat from this also no bother. I think it's just 'the birds' being finicky. Now you've got them feeding from it you should be fine.

I thought the specialist feeders were the seed type and not the thistle.

Cheers,

[overgrownbramble]

Good to know others try the same thing!

I know those feeders with the pull off corners, square yes? I stupidly bought the three pack of niger, blue tit food etc, and not a bird anywhere near any of them.

Then I tried the special niger feeder with the tiny holes, and nothing. Now the niger's in the round port feeders and seed mices in iether port feeders or the lantern types, they seem to work best. Best of all the bits that do spill on the ground underneath (especially sunflower) have enticed a pair of bullfinches into the garden, so a win win situation!

[ian vickors]

I used a Niger feeder but found that it did not attract Goldfinches in any number. Then tried mixing Niger and sunflower hearts in a normal port feeder and this was better but wastefull.
It was found that the Goldfinches took the sunflower hearts along with the other birds.
I now feed only sunflower hearts in my feeders and last winter had a pride of goldfinches counted as 60 + and at the time of the garden watch weekend the number was 35.
the number has gone down as is to be expected during the breeding season and I now have the local population of 8. Still coming to feed and in good fettel. roll on the winter and the return of the winter finch flocks they brighten up the cold winter days.

[Elizabeth B]

Towards the end of 2003 I bought a special niger feeder, and within a couple of days there were two goldfinches on it - before this we had only seen a solitary goldfinch on a few occcasions, they didn't even come to the teasels I grew specially for them. The number soon built up to about 17, so I bought another niger feeder. However in the spring of 2004, siskins began to arrive until there were over 70, and most of the goldfinches moved away. When they returned after the siskins had moved off to their breeding grounds, they seemed to prefer sunflower hearts. We had only one or two siskins in 2005, but they returned en masse in 2006 and one week I reported 96 for the BTO GardenBirdwatch - by this time I had 4 niger feeders and they were all over these, with many on the ground beneath searching for the spilled seeds. We still get goldfinches round the year, but they usually only take niger seed when all the feeding ports on the hearts feeders are occupied, and there is a "queue" waiting on the brackets of the feeder pole.