Finch Feeder

 

We bought and installed a sock style finch feeder this year, and for the first week or so I thought I had wasted my money. 

Now, it is covered with birds all day long, and I have to refill the sock about once a day. I keep it filled with nyjer (thistle) seeds which are so small they are almost microscopic.  According to a bird fancier website, the Finches’ favorite seeds are the tiny nyjer seeds and the big black sunflower seeds that are part of the mix in our regular bird feeder.

The Finches – American Goldfinch – don’t have the aerobatic capability of the hummingbirds we feed at other times of the year, but they are fun to watch.  When a new bird wants to join in the feast, he should land on the hanger, and work his way down the sock on foot.  If he tries to land on the sock, it usually results in a bird explosion as they all fly away a foot or two and regroup.

In winter, they are mostly brown with black on their wings and tail and pale tan bellies.  Sometimes, if the light hits just right, you may see a hint of pale green or yellow, but they are, to put it kindly, drab little birds. It is hard to believe that in the Spring and Summer – after they’ve flown back up north – the males look like this: