Why dont Bullfinches come to my feeders?

[FUDGEY]

Originally Posted by rossy

intresting question fudgey, bullfinches are very timid birds, and after seeing your feeders, its possible they prefer a little more cover, if you know what i mean, try to place a feeder or two in between a few bushes, if there are any nearby. rossy.

Great point Rossy, I think you will be on the money there and I didnt even consider that. I will reposition a couple of sunflower heart feeders and see what happens, many thanks Mrs Brainbox

[Dogghound]

One of the best ways to attract bullfinch to an area would be to plant a load of cherries or plums, although for obvious reasons this is not always practical. They are actually a species that in my experience can suffer to some extent locally from habitat fragmentation. Little things such as open exposed fields with defunct/or none existent hedgerows can discourage feeding flocks from traveling across, funneling them away into other areas. As others have said they are shy and encouraging an understory and scrubby habitat within a garden would ultimately increase their confidence and make them more likely to hang around. They love a good hedge system or area of scrub, even in woodland they prefer areas with an understory and dense growth I find more breeding in glades, edges of clearings, woodland edge and young woodland with an avoidance of expanses of mature trees with no understory. They can be a nightmare to find in woodland though.

I would have a look at an aerial shot like Google earth or Google maps and see if fragmentation could be the answer. You may also just live in an area with rich feeding grounds away from you house which are safer and less disturbed resulting in them spending their time there instead.