Finches eating me out of house & home! (1 Viewer)

[dscherman]

I'm just getting started at feeding birds. My tube feeder holds about a pint - pint and a half (.5 - .75 L, roughly) of seed. when I first put up the feeder my visitors were mostly Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chicakdees, plus a few nuthatches. I would refill the feeder every few days. As word got around the population grew, and a few American Goldfinches started hanging around. Now, chickadees and titmice will eat sparingly, take a few pieces of seed now and then, and fly away to break them open somewhere else. Finches, on the other hand, park themselves on a perch and glom away for hours, basically devouring the contents of the feeder in less than a day! I now have two pairs of goldfinches, and today a swarm of house finches came up to see what was going on. I'm running a soup kitchen for finches! The feeder emptied, but as it was getting dark and there are other people in the area with feeders, I decided to not refill it until tomorrow.

But I fear I must take more decisive action for the long term. Would a tray or two of thistle help keep the finches away from the seed feeder? I understand finches like it, but would it last, or would they inhale the thistle for breakfast and return to the seed feeder before lunch? This could get expensive, with the suet I plan to buy plus the new feeder. I love having all the birds, but now I'm looking for a little variety, as well as economy. Who uses thistle in their feeding arrangement, and what different birds can I expect it to attract (Eastern New England, US)? And above all, does it help in controlling/satiating a growing finch population?

Once again, thanks for your help and participation.

 

[brettski]

We had a similar problem with our thistle tubes. For every seed that a finch removed, 3 more would fall to the ground. The tubes would empty like the gas tank on a Hummer. We switched to feeding socks and the problem was cured. The only potential difficulty is getting the finches to accept the sock, so set it up next to the tube and wean them off. Also, the sock is not weather resistant. The see will get wet in the rain. We went to the dollar store and picked up large salad containters, pitched the lids, and inverted the bowl to create an umbrella. Drill a hole thru the bottom/center and bolt it to the stock hanger. Use a little ingenuity.

 

[etudiant]

There is considerable waste with tube feeders as more seeds drop out of the ports than just the ones the bird pulls out. A tray at the base of the tube to catch these is a good addition. It not only curbs the waste but also reduces the risk of getting a mat of seeds and hulls at the base of the feeder. However, no free lunch, the tray must be cleaned off frequently, especially when it rains, else things get moldy fast. Snow and ice in winter need to be cleared off as well.
Overall though, having finches rather than sparrows, starlings and grackles as your visiting gluttons seems like a high class problem.

 

[zz1666]

I had the same problem. Finches always park themselves and just sit and eat. I used the little sock feeder, filled it with Thissle, and put it a good distance away from the tube feeder. The finches seem to take longer in getting out the seed than at a Tube Feeder, so the entire supply won't be gone in a day, but it will empty quickly. You can also expect to see Redpolls, Grosebeaks, and Sparrows. I also once had a Pine Siskin visit.

 

[dscherman]

I was thinking of a window feeder rather than another tube, but I'd probably have the same problem of waste. If it doesn't work, I'll use the tray for something else and try the sock approach. Thanks for the suggestions. By the way, in the two or three months since I've been feeding, I haven't had a single problem with grackles or starlings, touch wood. A few sparrows, but they don't seem to be as voracious as the finches. And they are mostly Chipping Sparrows, small and nice to look at.