Where are all my finches?!

[Timw]

Hi all,

Before I start, I've just joined your forum and had a trawl around some of the posts. You all know your stuff don't you (!) ... so hopefully someone could advise me on the following ... !

I have a cottage garden and recently bought a niger feeder to try to attract goldfinches etc. I bought the niger seed, sunflower hearts plus general bird nuts, a fat ball (oh, and a funny bell shaped seedy thing from a hardware shop that they've all ignored!!). Amazingly, within about half an hour of putting the niger seeder out, I got two goldfinches. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven (well maybe not, but it was a great and pleasant surprise seeing them so soon)

Anyway, in recent weeks, they've not returned. In fact, I'm very rarely getting anything other than starlings, sparrows and the odd blackbird, so am wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Poss reasons I can think of are:-

- the height of my hangers (they're all nailed to a bird table at a height of about 4 foot off the ground)
- the bird table is next to a load of flowers and grasses which are all about 4-5 foot in height, so maybe it's not being seen by the birds?
- a cat sometimes gets into the garden from a few doors down, so maybe that's scared them off?
- the holes aren't big enough on the the feeders
- our weird weather at the moment
- there's enough food round elsewhere

I've moved the niger feeder to hanging off my rotary dryer now, but still no luck.

Also, I've NEVER seen any other finches, eg bull, green, chaff, so any ideas what I can do to attract them? I have no tall trees in my garden, other than one small oak at the end. There are a fair few though in the gardens beyond at the back

Any advice gratefully received

Cheers

Tim

[paulchandler6]

Maybe a bit early for most Finches to be visiting gardens as there is still a lot of seed out in the countryside. Thistles are seeding also a lot of other plants so I would guess that seed eating species are spread out in meadows, woods etc still. maybe as the food source in the wild becomes depleted then they will start visiting gardens with feeders in. My usual Greenfinches and Chaffinches have dissapeared for the time being but should be back by the end of September/October. Cheers

[kshotton45]

I think most feeding tables are seeing less birds at the moment , probably because the nesting seasons virtually over. Remember, they may have been feeding 6 or 8, but only a couple survive to grow to adults.
I would recommend carrying on feeding and be patient. The numbers should increase.
But next year - bingo!! They'll know where all the food is.

keith.

[stripee]

I had a couple of canaries and used to put their old food out and soon found lots of chaffinches, so now I buy them it. They like the mixed canary seeds best

[The Black Rabbit]

We've had Goldfinches and Bullfinches on our single feeder since spring. Invariably up until a fortnight ago, a look at the feeder would produce a nice sight of these birds.
Hardly a visit though at the moment - but not surprising in my opinion. THIS is the time of year when there is a veritable plethora of WILD food for Goldfinches and Bullfinches - they are simply spending time utilising their natural food source supplies at present - it happens about this time each and every year.
You may (like us) get the odd visit, but don't change owt, they'll be back later in the year, in larger numbers, sometimes much larger numbers when their natural supplies "dry up".
In my experience anyway, they almost invariably are!
TBR

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

We've had Goldfinches and Bullfinches on our single feeder since spring. Invariably up until a fortnight ago, a look at the feeder would produce a nice sight of these birds.
Hardly a visit though at the moment - but not surprising in my opinion. THIS is the time of year when there is a veritable plethora of WILD food for Goldfinches and Bullfinches - they are simply spending time utilising their natural food source supplies at present - it happens about this time each and every year.
You may (like us) get the odd visit, but don't change owt, they'll be back later in the year, in larger numbers, sometimes much larger numbers when their natural supplies "dry up".
In my experience anyway, they almost invariably are!
TBR

I think there must be a shortage of natural food round our way - I have four 4-port hanging feeders, two filled with hearts and the others with black sunflower seed, and I have to refill them every two or three days, as all the food has gone by then. A home made suet block that weighs about 380g lasts less than two days - used mainly by blue and great tits, with occasional visits from a coal tit, a nuthatch and one or two sparrows. There are lots of trees in the large neighbouring gardens, and we are close to a lot of common land too. Surely if natural food was plentiful, the birds wouldn't be eating me out of house and home like this? (I hope I'm not making the birds lazy about finding food)!!!

Last week my maximum count for the BTO was 19 chaffinches, and 12 greenfinches - this week it has been 9 and 16.

[Cazzie]

Hi Tim,

Well it could be the height of your feeders that's the problem. Mine are a shepherds crook design and approx 6ft high and I get all the finches on mine. The only ones that don't actually use the feeders are the Chaffy's as they tend to like to feed off the ground (well in my garden any way lol!). I've even had a juvenile robin visiting these last few days and it's been using a normal seed feeder (they usually use the baskets on the feeder pole) and I use a husk free mix from the garden centre. He's quite a friendly chap and I hope he sticks around!

I use black sunflower seeds (not shelled) and will have Greenfinches and Bullfinches on them every day on and off. I have 2 niger seed feeders and both are used almost every day as well by the Goldfinches. The holes are not too small at all I promise you - if they were any bigger the niger seed would fall out lol! I've yet to try a suet block as I have Jackdaws about and I reckon they'll demolish it within seconds

If you move your feeders, just wait at least 2 weeks as it will take the birds that long to re-find them and realise there's a free meal waiting there! The moggie could also be a problem... Have you got a water pistol?!?

Stripee - that's a good tip! Might just try the canary seed in a feeder and see what turns up for it (that's if I can keep the pesky pigeons away from it of course!

[kshotton45]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

We've had Goldfinches and Bullfinches on our single feeder since spring. Invariably up until a fortnight ago, a look at the feeder would produce a nice sight of these birds.
Hardly a visit though at the moment - but not surprising in my opinion. THIS is the time of year when there is a veritable plethora of WILD food for Goldfinches and Bullfinches - they are simply spending time utilising their natural food source supplies at present - it happens about this time each and every year.
You may (like us) get the odd visit, but don't change owt, they'll be back later in the year, in larger numbers, sometimes much larger numbers when their natural supplies "dry up".
In my experience anyway, they almost invariably are!
TBR

We've had a strange day on the feeders today. Visits for the past few weeks have been down. But today ! We've been blitzed with Tits , as one flew off another landed - it's been none stop all afternoon. The other surprise were the Goldfinches - probably only 4 in total, but they never left the garden.
I was trying to photograph a dogfight between a Goldfinch and a Starling. It was the Goldfinch sending the Starling packing! I watched it happen 3 times.Couldn't get a shot though. This is one of the Gladiators !

Keith.

[humbug]

it's been the same up here in n.e. scotland. very quite for the last week or so but then today despite the rain, greenfinch, chaffinch, siskin, great tit, blue tit and coal tit and a single squirrel there all day.

brian.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

I've noticed that the visits to my feeders at work by finches have been up in the past week, quite a few Greenfinch and Chaffinch using them now, as well as a Juv GSW and some adults whereas all through summer i've just had Great/Blue and the occasional Coal Tit