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Missing my finches (1 Viewer)

schneidb51

New member
All winter long I've had a bunch of finches coming to my finch feeder. In the last week, I've noticed that they have vanished. Are they a seasonal bird? I live in Raleigh North Carolina.
 
Hi, schneidb51 -
Here in the mountains of NC, we usually see House, Purple and Goldfinches in good numbers at the tail end of winter and beginnning of spring. Our reasoning is that the seed crop from last year has been eaten or become inedible by the cold and wet of the winter months. When the insect population builds up and leaf buds become available as food, many of these birds use the natural sources and the feeder numbers drop off.
That's our experience anyway!
Goldfinches and House Finches are here in the summer but Purple Finches are a more northerly breeding species.

Steve
 
I agree with you Hamhed, numbers of birds in my yard are falling off too as "live" food starts getting more plentiful. I do have a few Brown Headed Cow Birds and a pair of House finches that still call by, but by and large, everything else has moved on.
 
And the same here in Western NC... Whereas a few weeks ago, I couldn't keep our TWO tube feeders filled, I'll bet the level in them hasn't dropped an inch in the last week. It's like they have disappeared except for 5-10, and THEY don't seem interested in tube feeders (some do hit the cracked seed feeders though...)
 
They'll have moved onto mainly insect food now as many will be feeding young which need a high protein diet plus, with young in the nest, they'll be keeping a low profile.

Chris
 
I have read that Goldfinches do not begin raising young until mid to late summer. One reason stated is that, as seedeaters, finches wait until most plants are maturing and producing seeds to feed their young. I would think they would be fine with feeding them insects but maybe they need their offspring to be weaned on what they are meant to eat as adults.
Possibly, insects are fine as an "interim" food for when there is no seed but not as a long term diet.
Which makes me question my own reasoning about not having finches at the feeders. If we are supplying them with what they are meant to eat, why don't we see them when nature offers so little of their natural foods? Do they switch to insects as a change of pace? Do they go for a higher protein food to prepare for producing young? Does the female lose the weight gain through laying eggs and the male just ends up with a gut?

Certainly no answers from me; I'm better at posing questions!

Steve
 
I appreciate all the answers here-I'm new at this, and I didn't know most of what's mentioned here. They are NOT starving-that's for sure! The ones I am seeing are plump... ;)
 
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