Where have my Goldfinches gone?? (1 Viewer)

Until recently we have had regular flocks of Goldfinches in the garden-often as many as 20+
A few days ago we noticed we were not seeing them and kept a watch. We have not seen them for over a week.
The feeders are stocked with the same niger seed and nothing has changed.
We are getting all the other species-just no Goldfinches
Has anyone else had the same experience ?

I have always found Goldfinch to be hit and miss with niger feeders - some winters, they are there every day, but this year they are rare (even as the weather gets colder).

On a similar note, where have all the Greenfinches gone? They used to be the dominant species at my bird table, but this winter it took over a month for the first to appear and they are still seldom seen. At the same time, the local sparrow flock has grown in numbers and both Blue and Great Tits are constantly visiting, as are Robin and Dunnock.

i too have noticed greenfinches becoming less of a visitor in my garden, goldfinches are still visiting but not as much, but litterally at the bottom of my street i see goldfinches on my local patch everyday, so for me at least i think its the birds following there insticts and feeding of natural food as i often see them on thistleheads

Mine went awol for a couple of weeks & returned today David.
One Goldfinch ignored the niger seed and headed directly for the seed/nut mix I re-located a few days ago. I put this feeder near my door for close up views of common garden birds!
Hope they return for you.

Hi from the North West of England:

I have around 12 Greenfinch daily at present and they give the Starlings some banter to ghet to the feeders!!

However my Goldfinch (6+ most days) stay in the conifer trees and dont bother with the feeders at all even though I have Nijer seeds on offer, although I did see one Goldfinch making tentative steps towards the feeding station without trying it out.

The Greenfinch seem to be the only ones at the moment eating the Nijer

Dave