Birds Won't Touch Niger Seed???

[julia.julibob]

I have enjoyed feeding birds in my garden for many years, but wanted to give them something a bit more adventurous to eat. I have a good mix of fat balls, fat cakes, seed mix, mealworms and peanuts, but I saw some niger Seed and bought it with a niger seed feeder. I put it where my fat ball feeder was, and it has been up for 2 weeks, but it has not been touched.

The variety of birds in my garden are:

Tree/House Sparrows (lots)
Starlings (lots)
2 Pairs of Collared Doves
Blue Tits
Great Tits
Robins
Blackbirds
Jenny Wren (occasionally makes an appearance)
Sparrow Hawk (seen once or twice)

Can anyone think why they wouldnt be feeding from it?

Julia

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by julia.julibob

I have enjoyed feeding birds in my garden for many years, but wanted to give them something a bit more adventurous to eat. I have a good mix of fat balls, fat cakes, seed mix, mealworms and peanuts, but I saw some niger Seed and bought it with a niger seed feeder. I put it where my fat ball feeder was, and it has been up for 2 weeks, but it has not been touched.

The variety of birds in my garden are:

Tree/House Sparrows (lots)
Starlings (lots)
2 Pairs of Collared Doves
Blue Tits
Great Tits
Robins
Blackbirds
Jenny Wren (occasionally makes an appearance)
Sparrow Hawk (seen once or twice)

Can anyone think why they wouldnt be feeding from it?

Julia

Goldfinches love nyger seed. Be patient and perhaps one will arrive soon, then you'll have lots soon after.

[Lance Morgan]

Hi Julia
I would not worry the feeder is just new to them - I am sure they will come back when they get used to it. This happened to me and it was nearly a month before they returned en masse.

[Alan]

Hi Julia,

Finches such Goldfinch and Greenfinch are the ones that'll take Niger. Spent Teasel heads can be 're-filled' with it - Goldfinches often like it this way. House Sparrows may take it if it's the only food, but they usuall leave mine alone.

Alan

edit: ^ where did you two come from! ^

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

In my experience only Goldfinch will regularly take seed from Niger feeders, and have occasionally seen Siskin and Greenfinch on them

[Dorcas]

oh snap - I had that

I live in the suburbs and in the end just mixed it with other seed and eventually after months and months it went to a variety of sparrows and greenfinches

only once did I have goldfinches but to be honest that was to be expected - just didn't work where I lived

[julia.julibob]

Oh, I should have done a bit more research then. I have yet to see any finches in my neck of the woods!!!

Julia

[glsammy]

It's the same for us, Niger is untouched. We're hoping some passing Goldfinches might spot them one day!
Sunflower seeds though are loved by our Greenfinches, all the Tits and sparrows, It goes down three times faster than the mixed variety we use.

[aeshna5]

The finches with finer bills such as Goldfinch + Siskin are main species to be attracted to niger. In my garden I got excited when I finally saw 1 or 2 Goldfinches on Teasel heads; invested in a niger feeder + shortly several were using it on a daily basis. But then they totally ignored the niger, Goldfinch numbers in the garden went up to 20+ , but they were now only interested in sunflower hearts, in the end I had to throw out niger as nothing was interested in it anymore.

This winter I have far fewer Goldfinches, which may be due to intense competition from my ever growing posse of House Sparrows, though they can put up a fair fight on one of the port holes of feeder. So niger feeders sometimes work, other times they are ignored even when you've got the right birds!

[JeffH]

In my garden Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Collared Doves take niger seed from the feeder and Chaffinches feed from the ground beneath it.