the sock

[low_delta]

I used to always put out a sock/sack of thistle/nyjer seeds for the finches. Then, last year, I didn't. I ran out of both seed and sock, and never got around to replacing them. This year, I had the sock, but didn't actually get any seed until after the snow fell. So it's been a week and a half, and nobody has touched it. Normally, the goldfinches love it, with the occasional house finch partaking. This year, I haven't seen a goldfinch in several weeks, and the house finches aren't touching it. I'm wondering if the goldfinches migrated away after finding no food.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's best to put out food shortly before the birds arrive. However, what birds you get often vary from one year to another.

This year our fall migration barely happened. It was so warm so late that I saw hardly anything but our usual local birds. Much later, I've seen a couple of goldfinches and one lonely dark-eyed junco. But when I put out suet, which I don't do until the weather turns cold, the sparrows found it within a day or two. Sometimes it takes days or weeks for them to spot a new food source.

Sometimes it helps to put out several different food sources to attract more birds. That makes others want to come take a look, and if the bigger birds are eating mixed seed or sunflower seed, that leaves thistle for the finches.

Re: Thoughts

[ribirdnerd]

That's one bird I don't see very often at my feeders - Goldfinches and House Finches. But I don't put out thistle seeds, so that is probably the reason.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Finches strongly prefer thistle, will occasionally eat other tiny seeds, and I've seen them eat black oil sunflower seeds occasionally. As much birdage as you have, consider buying a cheap thistle sock to hang up. I bet you'll get finches. Even if not, some chickadees and nuthatches will eat thistle.

Re: Thoughts

[ribirdnerd]

Yes I'm always tempted to pick up one..I should.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Go for it! Thistle socks are cheap and a good way to test for thistle eaters.

Re: Thoughts

[low_delta]

Goldfinches are generally here all year round. At least they are when I have their seed out. So did miss the window of do-or-die and they migrated, or are they just super-local to wherever they are at the moment, and they moved into someone else's yard and aren't going to bother coming back to check for food?

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Could be either. Sometimes if you miss the migration, you won't see any until the next exchange. Here I get a random selection -- some years I see goldfinches in summer, some in winter, others both or neither. However, they can strip a thistle feeder fast when they're hungry, so there's a chance they may roam around looking for more if your neighbor runs out of seed.

Re: Thoughts

[low_delta]

I did see seed or hulls on the ground around it, so somebody is partaking, but I haven't actually seen them.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

If there are hulls on the ground, you've got action. Try watching:

* at dawn or dusk
* on a clear cold day
* in light snow
* the first clear day after bad weather.

These are conditions that tend to bring more birds to the feeders for easy meals.

My sparrows hog the hopper feeder, only tolerating 1-2 birds per side on nice days. As it gets colder, they squabble less in favor of just stuffing their faces as fast as possible, hence me saying "three-bird-cold" or "four-bird-cold." Today's utterly frigid conditions had them trying to cram 7-8 birds on there! :D

Re: Thoughts

[low_delta]

I got a glimpse of someone on the sock, seemed like a chickadee. The feeders are busiest in the morning, and tapering off through the day. Cardinals are the last ones there as the light fades. I don't usually see anybody there first thing in the morning. Seems like it needs to warm up a bit.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I got a glimpse of someone on the sock, seemed like a chickadee.<<

Yay!

>> The feeders are busiest in the morning, and tapering off through the day. Cardinals are the last ones there as the light fades.<<

Yeah, my cardinals are busy at dusk too.

>> I don't usually see anybody there first thing in the morning. Seems like it needs to warm up a bit.<<

Quite possibly.

Here it rained off and on all day, and my poor birdies huddled in whatever shelter they could find.