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

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.