A mixed flock of finches
We set up our current feeding station a couple of years ago, and after some experimentation we stock it with nyger seed, peanuts, and sunflower hearts, and put miscellaneous tasty morsels on the wire tray. We also put food on the lawn near the feeder, and doing this consistently and reasonably generously (mixed seed, nyger seed, black sunflower seed) has attracted an interesting mixed flock of finches. I describe them as a flock because they display collective alarm behaviour which is largely ignored by other ground-feeding birds (robin, dunnock, blackbird, pied wagtail, etc) that are near them. The flock typicaly numbers twenty to thirty birds.
So what's in the flock? The core is a group of up to twenty chaffinches, and these feed only on the ground. With them there are usually three or four bramblings, which likewise feed only on the ground. There are a similar number of redpolls, but these are equally happy feeding on the nyger seed feeder, although they do not eat anything else from the feeders. We have very large numbers of goldfinches, and these feed with equal enthusiasm on the nyger seed feeder and the sunflower heart feeder, but will also feed on the ground, particularly when the feeders become a bit crowded, and then they form part of the flock. Finally, when greenfinches are around they feed on the sunflower heart feeder and also join the flock. Birds on the feeders ignore the alarm behaviour of the flock on the ground.
It may seem obvious that if you want a good variety of birds, then feeding a variety of foods in a variety of ways is a good idea, but it is really interesting to me to see it working out in practice. Not yet any siskins, however, and, sadly, bullfinches are only a rare sighting on our hedgerow trees. We have a red-legged partridge at the moment, probably a refugee from the same nearby shoot that is no doubt the source of our numerous ring-necked pheasants, although the pheasants do breed on our land as well, so it is quite common to see a hen with two or three chicks in the summer.
Just to complete the picture with some of our other birds, Parus tits (GT, BT, CT, Marsh Tit) feed on the peanuts and the sunflower hearts, with occasional excursions to pick up oddments from the tray or the ground. Long-tailed tits occasionally visit in parties of half-a-dozen or so and eat peanuts for a few minutes, then move on. Great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches eat peanuts. Blackcaps and robins feed from the tray, with robins occasionally making a rather clumsy job of taking a few sunflower hearts from the feeder. Starlings will have a go at any easy pickings. And how could I forget or resident sparrowhawks, which the feeding programme is supporting at one remove!
