Hi there, i'd heard that Niger seed attracted gold finches to your garden so i decided to put some out in one of the seed holders and i wasn't expecting much. Within a day the seed holder was surrounded by three gold finches! I was very suprised as had never seen them in my garden before. I was just wondering if anyone knew how these little birds detect the whereabouts of the seed so quickly - is it smell ...?
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Niger Seed / Gold Finch? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter LewisSpar
- Start date
CBB
Well-known member
LewisSpar said:
I'd never had a gold finch in my garden until last Winter. I put out a Niger feeder. Nothing happened for two weeks then one day I had 2 GF's. For the next couple of months or so I had anything up to 8GF's every day. Since late Spring I have not seen any but I'm assuming they'll be back at the end of Autumn. I think that they travel with green finches more in Winter. They perhaps just follow them to the feeders.
Chris
colonelboris
Right way up again
Considering their sense of smell isn't supposed to be great, they must have pretty sharp eyes.
Where dad's let a part of the garden go, we've got some thistles and we had two adults and a juvenile goldfinch tearing up the thistle heads, which was nice.
Where dad's let a part of the garden go, we've got some thistles and we had two adults and a juvenile goldfinch tearing up the thistle heads, which was nice.
Arthur John
Active member
Summer Goldfinch/Greenfich
This Spring/Summer we have had Greenfinch with their young and Goldfinch with their young. Some days the feeders need filling twice. Often there are too many to count as they are so quarrlesome and don't keep still long enough.
Last Spring(2005) we had adult goldfiches bringing their young to the feeders as many as 8 birds at a time , we think that there were two broods.cbb said:
This Spring/Summer we have had Greenfinch with their young and Goldfinch with their young. Some days the feeders need filling twice. Often there are too many to count as they are so quarrlesome and don't keep still long enough.
Mary Evelyn
New member
We have been putting Niger seed out for around nine months now but no Goldies.Lots of Chaffs and Greens etc who come in for the Sunflower hearts and Black sunflower.We only see the Goldies come winter and even then, not too many.I know there are a lot of them in our local park but try as i may they will not visit my garden, at least not when i am looking.Infact,you have reminded me that i can't even remember seeing one last winter. :-C
When it comes to finding the food though Lewis,the birds are amazing and i think, simply follow the others, check out what's there and if it's good enough,stay.
When it comes to finding the food though Lewis,the birds are amazing and i think, simply follow the others, check out what's there and if it's good enough,stay.
Kits
Picture Picker
Oh Mary, I am sooooooooo pleased that you have had no goldies visiting your niger or sunflower hearts. Now, before you think I am being nasty, I truly am not. But I get so fed up with reading posts like Lewis' which say within a day of putting out niger they are swamped with goldfinches! I have had niger and sunflower hearts out for 9 months too and not seen a single goldie! Not one. Ever. :-C
beaklet
Member
I grew a wild flower mix that I bought for a pound in Wilkos this year. and it was the best pound I ever spent....from the seed grew, among other flowers, poppies of all colours and cornflowers of every shade too, they have attracted so many bees so I felt I was doing my bit towards the dying bee population.......Well today I have a couple of goldfinch's in the garden eating the seed from the drying cornflowers, they were so close to the window it was absolutely lovely to watch them. I will have to get some niger seed too. They are beautiful.
Sue.
Sue.
jimbofoxman
Active member
I need to put some fresh Thistle out there, but all winter long on the one thistle feed I have, I can't keep enough in there.
Mary Evelyn
New member
Wow ,today for the first time to my knowledge a Goldie.Not to Niger but to Sunflower Hearts and thankyou ,thankyou ,thankyou,i was washing dishes.Not a Brilliant pic because our windows needed cleaning but a pic of my first Goldie this year.Oh Kits, :loveme: :loveme: :loveme: I am so chuffed. :loveme:
Attachments
colonelboris
Right way up again
Mary Evelyn said:
I know how that goes - managed to half the shutter speed by cleaning ours...
Mynydd Merlin
Well-known member
LewisSpar said:
No, probably not smell. Like yourself we have fairly recently started using Niger seed in a specialised feeder and have attracted goldfinches, siskens and greenfinches to it. I think it is more likely that finches observe the feeding habits of other birds (particularly Chaffinches) and then home in on that food source.
Hey! Could be wrong but what the heck, so long as you get to see these fantastic birds, who cares!
Jason Alexander
Keeping an eye on wildlife
Put out a niger feeder last year with no luck for the first few weeks and then BAM! a gang of 6 marauding Goldies totally took over the feeder and we haven't looked back since!
I have seen the occasional Greenfinch on there too but the Goldies tend to sit on each perch and won't budge....great to watch.
You can watch them LIVE too if you want on The Feeder Channelhere....
http://www.gardenature.co.uk/livecams/channel2.php
I have seen the occasional Greenfinch on there too but the Goldies tend to sit on each perch and won't budge....great to watch.
You can watch them LIVE too if you want on The Feeder Channelhere....
http://www.gardenature.co.uk/livecams/channel2.php
Mynydd Merlin said:
I also use the Droll Yankee Niger feeder and I have three other mixed seed feeders in the garden. These feeders attract lots of other birds (Sparrows - who says they are in decline, I'm feeding the whole population of East Scotland!!) and like Mynydd says, I think the finches will come in when they see the Sparrows or other birds. The bright yellow top also might bring them in. Goldies tend to come in first thing in the morning and are quite shy but the Siskins are getting as bold as brass. I was working in the garden yesterday and they were happily feeding less than three yards away from me.
Cheers
Stuart R
Attachments
I noticed 2 Goldfinches on our bird table once which surprised me. As soon as I knew they were in the area I ordered some Niger and a feeder and within a couple of days they were back and now visit every day.
They're really cute, there's only ever 2 of them and I think it's the same 2 every time. They arrive and leave at exactly the same time. When one of them has finished eating it waits on the branch for the other to finish and then they both fly off together!
They're really cute, there's only ever 2 of them and I think it's the same 2 every time. They arrive and leave at exactly the same time. When one of them has finished eating it waits on the branch for the other to finish and then they both fly off together!
Osprey_watcher
Ένας ερασ&
I noticed a couple of Goldies hanging around the neighbourhood in the spring so got a niger feeder and seed. Only saw one visit in three months until yesterday. I went out for quick fag and noticed a beautiful goldfinch on the feeder. I thought it would fly off because of my presence but it stayed for about 5 minutes, with me not daring to move in case I startled it. Worth the wait and I hope they will become regulars now.
Mary Evelyn
New member
I am afraid i am back to square one although been putting Nyger out for so long.My goldie was wearing a green ring and i discovered it was an escapee.It came everyday,feeding and so at home in the feeder, then using the bath but sadly,i think it is no more, as it just disappeared. :-C
Have had a Nyjer feeder up for about 2 years with minimal success: odd visits from Goldies but nothing regular and never more than 3 birds. However, sunflower hearts seemed much more attractive to them, though having said that, I haven't seen a Goldie at the feeders for a couple of weeks. Mind you, not many smaller birds are using the feeders at the moment. The local Collared Doves are still hoovering up the seed though!
Thomas
Thomas