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My woes with Nyjer Seed - can anyone help? (1 Viewer)

david2004

Well-known member
When I went to RSPB Dungeness, I found a Nyjer seed feeder and nyjer seed available in their shop. I had heard this attracted goldfinches, so bought some. I haven't seen any goldfinches in my area but I really wanted to attract some and I know they are plentiful locally, as I checked the RSPB statistics.
I put the full feeder with seed tray out and it has been at least two weeks and nothing's touched it. Some birds, like Blue Tits and starlings use the perches before getting to the nearby nuts, but other than that it's been ignored.

Does anyone have any ideas why this is or what I can do to get some goldfinches?

Thanks

Tp
 
It's still a wee bit early in the summer to get goldfinches in an average small garden, I reckon. They'll be there later in the year, though, I bet.

A friend had the same problem a year back, but last winter had lots of goldfinches on his feeders. He has no explanation why it took so long - but I think they are not the tamest of birds. You'll also be getting other autumn and winter finches, too, no doubt - even siskin. They have niger seed detectors on the end of their beaks!
 
Be patient! Once they find the food source they will come back.

I actually lured Goldfinches into my suburban garden with Sunflower Hearts (previously I had only seen them flying over) then added Nyjer seed. Within two days I had a Redpoll on the Nyjer!
 
Hi tp - I've told this story once or twice before - but the old hands can just skip this post! ;)

Last November I bought a new feeder pole, and hung a niger feeder on it. In the past I had put niger seeder in a dish on the bird table, and given some to my sister-in-law who lives a few miles away. Neither of us had any success, though she saw goldfinches in her garden fairly often.

My husband was very sceptical - but within 2 days there were a couple of goldfinches feasting there, and the number increased until we had 19 at one time. This continued until the siskins discovered my garden - by this time I had 2 niger feeders ! When the number of siskins reached 72, the goldfinches admitted defeat, and moved off elsewhere. I hoped they would return when the siskins moved off to their breeding grounds, but I only had two or three.

However I am getting juvenile goldfinches now, as well as the adults - but they are taking the sunflower hearts, and the niger feeder is hardly touched. I do hope the siskins will return in the winter - I have about 20kg of niger seed waiting for them!

So after all, this is what you probably need - patience! If they are around locally they should discover you eventually - but you could try offering sunflower hearts as well, as this is the preferred food for goldfinches in my small garden just now.

Good luck!
 
Just keep waiting- I waited 2 years for the orioles to find their feeder :|
 
We're still getting one or two Goldies in the garden, but it's certainly a quiet time as regards the number in the rest of the year. Certainly I'd give it a while yet. As has been said, once they find the new source of food, they will then come daily.
 
As Jwaldo say it's a patience game, long term attraction is important try growing teasel plants in a corner of the garden, they will soon seek it out, then every garden in the area with niger on offer will have goldfinches.
 
Merop said:
As Jwaldo say it's a patience game, long term attraction is important try growing teasel plants in a corner of the garden, they will soon seek it out, then every garden in the area with niger on offer will have goldfinches.

Teasels didn't do anything for me at all!
 
Merop said:
As Jwaldo say it's a patience game, long term attraction is important try growing teasel plants in a corner of the garden, they will soon seek it out, then every garden in the area with niger on offer will have goldfinches.

I wouldn't advise anyone to grow a teasel in their garden unless it is kept in a pot away from the main soil area. We got one 2 years ago and it did produce the seed heads last year, unfortunatly they are not very deep rooted and ours toppled over spreading the seeds everywhere ! It wasn't until the spring and all these had taken root (50+) that I had to pull them all out, quite a time comsuming job.

Stick with the ready done nyjer in a tube and as others have said they also appreciate sunflower hearts/kernels.

It has been a very quiet time up here but we seem to be getting a couple more back each day. I was blaming it on a bees nest we had in the garden but I think it is just a summer lull.
 
You're very lucky to have a bees' nest in your garden! They are becoming quite a rarity it seems. Hope you looked after them well!
 
Marmot said:
I wouldn't advise anyone to grow a teasel in their garden unless it is kept in a pot away from the main soil area. We got one 2 years ago and it did produce the seed heads last year, unfortunatly they are not very deep rooted and ours toppled over spreading the seeds everywhere ! It wasn't until the spring and all these had taken root (50+) that I had to pull them all out, quite a time comsuming job.
That's the bad news... the good news is, at least they are biennials - so you get all summer and the next winter to pull them up before they flower again.

The further bad news is, in spite of the recommendations, they don't seem to work too well for European Goldfinches - or at least, given the choice of niger or teasel, they take niger every time, in my experience.

Yep... stick to the niger (and get a seed tray for the feeder if you haven't already!)

We waited a good few months to be found, tp, but now we get them every day.
 
I am currently getting 7 adult goldies with 8 juvs pretty much every day at present, and they have visited daily since early Feb. I put the feeder up in Jan and it was the Siskins who found it first after one day - peaking at 25 in one day (in the middle of Aberdeen that is pretty good ! ).They have now stopped visiting, though had some juvs last month.

They WILL find it - have faith !

Linz
 
Took a couple of months before anything came to my Niger feeder, but now get daily Goldfinches, have had Siskin, and even the Greenfinches will use it in extremis....
 
Greenfinches are the most regular users of our nyjer feeder although mostly go for sunflower hearts. Our goldfinches definitely prefer sunflower hearts and rarely bother with nyjer seed. Siskins will use it, but as they only seem to be spring migrants with us, the sample is rather small.

Rob
 
Oh good, so you've had some birds on your nyjer, David. I bought a feeder a couple of weeks ago. So far, I've seen nothing on it, but hopefully there'll be something soon. Still early in the autumn to be attracting lots of varieties of birds to the garden.
 
Yeah i have although only once or twice. it would be good to get some goldies, but im content with the birds i have now. who knows, maybe by winter i'll get some?
 
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