Tips for Winter Feeding?? Nyjer/Thistle & Suet (1 Viewer)

[cdcDFW]

Hello all!

I'm fairly new to birding and have been able to enjoy feeding them for the past two years since I have moved from apartment living to a house. Now that the hummingbirds are long gone, I've been paying special attention to my winter birds in the DFW area. I've been consistently feeding them a mix of black oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds with the occasional mealworm treat. I've tried introducing them to nyjer as well as suet, and they won't touch either of them. The nyjer I've tried introducing first in the larger seed feeder with the other mix, then in a screen feeder, and finally in a finch sock. The suet is in the typical cage feeder and I've tried scraping down the outer layer in hopes it would make it more appealing. A few bites, but nothing after that. I've tried putting them in the same location as the main feeder to get them used to it, but also tried putting it in more sheltered / less active areas in case they were intimidated by the larger birds. I've tried fresh seed, filling the seed all the way, filling it only slightly, etc. Nothing has seemed to help. I'm wondering if the brand used and the quality has something to do with it, so any recommendations on a trusted brand would be greatly appreciated!

Currently in our yard we have the following visitors:
- House Finch
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Northern Flicker
- Chickadee
- Nuthatch
- Mockingbird
- Chipping Sparrow
- Pine Siskin
- Blue Jay
- Cardinal
- White-winged Dove
- Mourning Dove

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

Well the Cardinals devour my safflower seeds
My suet feeders go empty in a few days with the Blue Jays, Flickers and other Woodpeckers
The Chickadees like safflower as well as the black oiled sunflower seeds.

Just be patient and I can assure you that you will be going through seed and suet before long. I guess it also depends on how cold it gets in your area and how soon all the other natural food, i.e. insects disappear.

Please keep us posted.

 

[cdcDFW]

I guess it also depends on how cold it gets in your area and how soon all the other natural food, i.e. insects disappear.

That's an excellent point, I hadn't thought of that! It's still pretty mild around here. Thanks -

 

[Joe_Dizzy]

Could be just a matter of the right birds finding your yard. The thistle for example; I think the sock (cheese cloth) is a good approach, and once the Goldfinches find it, you'll wonder how you can afford to keep feeding them! We regularly have 6-10 (or more) Lesser and/or American Goldfinches on our thistle feeder.

We have 2 blocks of suet out, and they only get hit when the weather gets especially cold.

Most important of all IMO? Bird bath. Water helps pull birds in, especially during droughts and hard freezes.