niger seed

[kiwi]

apparently Niger seeds is supposed to attract goldfinches but in our garden its not attracting anything the birds just ignore the Niger seeds including the goldfinches anyone know why?

[goosey]

I had this problem as well when I tried it - It may have been just there are none in the area to attract .

[kiwi]

but we do get goldfinches in our garden they just go to the other feeders with sunflower seeds in them

[aeshna5]

In my garden they used it for a while then avoided it, taking sunflower hearts instead.

[petermcgain]

Our goldfinches go for the niger seed, as do the greenfinches if they can hold on. It sometimes takes the goldfinches a while to discover niger seed especially when there are alternatives - we saw a small flock on teasels the other day. Maybe when winter really arrives you'll be luckier.

[trampas45]

I had the same problem so I got rid of the nyger feeder. They now come and feed off my sunflower feeder. They only started comming when the Burdock flowers started to die off. Next year I am going to plant more Burdock as well as some Teasels they prefer these to feeders.

[kiwi]

thanks everyone

[rainmaker]

Mines been out for about 2-3 months now - and I saw my first goldfinches today!

Patience young padowan!

[Chrisg]

Mine was 'found' within two hours of it going up. Now I seem to be supporting eight (at least) including a number of this year's young, I think they are great - really bicker with each other but what fantastic colouring.

What type of feeder do you use. Mine are like seed feeders but with tiny slits that only really goldfinches can cope with?

ChrisG

[Purplepixii]

Aha I'm glad I'm not the only person whose finches prefer sunflower hearts / mixed seed to their supposedly favourite niger seeds!

I've noticed my finches ignore the niger seeds when there's other food out but as soon as the other feeders are empty they're straight onto the niger seeds.

We've also recently invested in a 2nd feeder tower so we have niger seeds at one end of the garden and the other seeds at the other end of the garden - this also seems to help

Purplepixii

[colincurry]

We have fresh and clean niger seed, sunglower hearts and peanuts. There are trees and shrubs in the garden proving cover. There is a clean water. We had a robin and collared dove today. Perhpas the cold weather in the offing might bring more birds to the garden.

Colin

[SweetRocket]

If it wasn't for the sunflower hearts I would'nt have any finches in the garden, I know that for a fact because until I started to use them the finches stayed high up in the trees never bothering to fly down.
I've also got a mixed seed feeder which I refill forthnightly, but the sunfllower feeder needs refilling every day!
The weather is turning bitingly cold during the next few day's so yes, there should be lots more birds visiting the garden.

[naturelover]

i tryed niger seed,they never touched it,in fact i through it out only today and replaced it with mixed wild bird seed which they seem to love,thats all the birds that visit my garden that is,the beauty of mixed seed there is some thing in it for all sorts of birds and they eat what they like that way.

[m1.carson]

Hi,

We seem to have a distinct lack of finches and tits over the last two months, reading they like niger seed we've tried it, nope no good, hasn't brought them back, robins, sparrows, dunnock, collard doves and blackbirds no problem, but as you said, mainly to the ground food and sunflower seed.

Max.

[Wolfhill]

The goldfiches in our garden love the niger seed, we never used to get them in the garden unless it was one of the hardest days in winter. I got a niger feeder and seed last christmas, and the goldfinches have never left since We also get greenfinches, chaffinches and sisken using the feeder. However most surprisingly for me is that recently the tree sparrows have taking a liking to it, they even sometimes choose it over the various seed mixes.
Fergus

[tufftie]

It took the goldfinches a while to find it - months in fact, but now they have they're in the garden most days. They seem to switch sometimes to mixed seed but on the whole they stay on the nyger feeder. I've seen the odd bluetit and siskin on it too.

[honeybee]

Nice to hear that goldfinches have made the top 10 in the garden birds survey this year

[Susie]

I am not sure why some goldfinches seem to avoid the niger seed and eat alternative food instead but I know that I also have had this problem.

In my garden in Hayes I had a niger feeder but despite perservering the seed would rot and on the odd occasions I did see a goldfinch in my garden it would be feeding on the seed heads of Evening Primrose.

Fast forward a couple of years and a house move and I have to top up the niger feeders (I now have three to deal with the demand in the front garden alone) frequently as charms of goldfinches will empty them in a matter of hours. Once the niger has gone they will start on the sunflower hearts, but have to take their place in the pecking order (quite literally) on the feeders behind the Greenfinches, Chaffinches and Nuthatches.

So, Kiwi, by all means perservere with your niger seed and I hope it does attract Goldfinches for you but it could purely be down to alternative food sources in your area and the palate of your birds. You may find that over the winter months as food become scarer you are more fortunate. Don't give up hope.