No Goldfinches?
Like a lot of people I’ve been talking to this year, I’ve had a real challenge getting goldfinches into my back yard. I’ve tried cleaning, changing seed, changing seed brands and praying. Up until a couple of weeks ago, it didn’t seem like there was any way to change this trend.
One day, I was out in my garage inventorying my feeders and supplies. I came upon a chickadee feeder that I had cleaned and retired last year at some point. It’s one I normally keep hanging just outside my back door. I know the reason I took it down is I wasn’t really getting anything but house finches on it and it does make a bit of a mess so close to the house. This has a tendency to attract all manner or things, including skunks. I clean out there at least twice/week so I’m not talking about a heap of stuff either.
I can remember vividly the night last year when I ALMOST let my dog out the back door. Thankfully, I remembered to check outside before I let her out. At the bottom of my steps was a young skunk trying to get as much sunflower seed scraps it could. That made up my mind to take it down. It just wasn’t worth the risk for the little bit of traffic it was getting.
Seeing this feeder I thought I might as well put it up and see if that would help my goldfinch issue.
And that has made all the difference!
Within two days of putting it out there, I started seeing a couple more, five more and then twenty or more new birds coming to this feeder! Within a week, they were attacking my previously uninteresting thistle feeder. Now, I can’t keep seed in the chickadee feeder and the thistle feeder is being emptied at least one perch level per day. As I’m looking at it now, it’s almost empty because I missed yesterday due to rain.
Besides this, they are also making regular rounds to my other sunflower seed feeder!
I’ve written previously about How to Attract Golfinches Into Your Back Yard but I wanted to review some things I think will really help you bring them back.
Updated List of How to Attract More Goldfinches
In no particular order, they are:
- If you have a feeder with old seed in it, take it down, clean it and refill it. If your seed is more than six months old, consider composting it and replacing it. Goldfinches are very aware of seed age and old (not necessarily bad, mind you) seed will kill your chances of getting them at your feeders.
- If you have tube feeders, consider getting a clear plastic dome to hang it from in your back yard. Preferably not one with the two piece wind resistant fixture. Those are no help whatsoever in keeping water out of the tube. Trust me on this!
- Buy some sunflower chips or chips and hearts and put them in a chickadee feeder you can hang close to your house. This will discourage other birds from taking it over.
- If you have squirrels, consider buying a squirrel proof tube feeder for your chips. Squirrels don’t care at all about thistle but they’ll take your house down looking for sunflower seed!
- Consider adding water if you don’t have it already. Just another nicety they love to visit. Especially if it’s close to one of their feeders. Here’s a simple but elegant resin bird bath.
- If you’ve done everything above and still don’t see them, consider moving your feeders around. They do like to have readily available cover (trees, bushes and brush) and will reward you for easing their minds.
Talk To Me!
Try these things and let me know what success you have with them. If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends and family on social media using the links below. That is unless you just want to make your birding friends green with envy and don’t want to share your secrets-HA!
Have a great week,
Jeff
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Have you seen this finch conjuctivitis in any of your goldfinches? I have seen one goldfinch with it at my tube feeder so removed the feeder. Apparently you can bleach your feeders often to try to prevent the spread. It is exacerbated and spread by tube feeders
Hello Heidi,
I have had goldfinches contract the disease from feeders house finches used. It’s very hard to act quick enough but I believe you did the right thing. There are some who say that “ALL” you have to do is wash them daily to keep it from spreading but I know that’s pretty rigorous for anybody who doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands.
The people that push this do because they say taking down the feeders just makes the birds go elsewhere and infect other birds. That may be 100% accurate but if I take down my feeders when I see this, at least I know I’M not directly causing the spread in my own back yard.
I believe as long as you clean them before you put them back up, you should be good.
I also blogged about this back in 2008 when I had a serious issue with this Here’s the post: Take Down Feeders
The other statement you made is spot on too. Tube feeders are the WORST for this! I have taken down all traditional tube feeders because of my high house finch population. I use upside-down thistle feeders for goldfinches and a hopper feeder. Neither require the bird to stick its head in and rub the sides with its face doing so. This has cut down the house finch eye disease to none in the last few years.
I DO put out a chickadee feeder with sunflower chips that the goldfinches also love. It comes down as soon as I see house finches using it.
Thanks for stopping by and joining in the discussion.
What part of the country are you?
Jeff
Just seeing this post and had to laugh, as I have quite a goldfinch community at my feeders (in NW New Jersey). Some have been here all year round but their numbers have exploded and I can’t look out in the yard without seeing a few goldfinches! I use nyjer tube feeders similar to your chickadee feeder as well as larger tube feeders with perches for sunflower hearts. The nyjer seed (like sunflower) contains alot of oils and will go rancid if left in the feeder more than a few days, especially in the summer or get moisture laden from damp weather and rain. I have to fill them every 1-2 days as they empty and they also attract house finches & a few purple finches. I wash the feeders every week or two in dishwasher to remove any bacteria that could harbor. I tried the “sock feeders” that have heavy netted nylon that can be purhased for a few bucks but they don’t seem to feed from them. Regardless of what I put them in, I have to really secure it as the squirrels have stolen numerous tube feeders and suet cages that are not wired or baffled. Thanks for the good reading!
Hi Kim,
Thanks for taking the time to comment and tell me about your corner of the world! Kudos to you for keeping a regular cleaning schedule for your feeders! This is still something I struggle with. I know how important it is to keep the feeders clean for the health of the birds and because goldfinches are very finicky when it comes to their feeders. They get dirty, they stop feeding. The seed gets even a little old, they stop feeding. I’ve never had luck with sock feeders either. I will say I’m really surprised to hear your squirrels bother your nyjer tube feeders. I’ve had mine up in the same place for a million years and I’ve never had even a baby squirrel bother them. Never. However, I feed ONLY nyjer. If you’ve put other food in tube feeders where they could get it, you’ve just taught them to try-LOL! That’s all the encouragement they need. I have my suet off a main pole that’s on a station with a raccoon baffle so I’ve NEVER had squirrels be able to get to it. The raccoon baffle was probably the best investment I’ve ever made in my feeding. Neither squirrels nor raccoons can get anything from that station unless some radiated super species tore the station out of the ground but I digress….LOL! My goldfinch traffic has picked up but I have a feeling it’s going to slow down again as I swap out my chip feeder for hummingbird nectar.Jeff
That was very useful information! I had never seen a goldfinch in my yard until I put up a nyjer feeder a month ago. Goldfinches arrived within an hour. They were acrobatic and delightful. On the same feeding station is a platform feeder, a water bowl, and a large sunflower seed feeder. More and more arrived. They took over all of it. Around the front of the house is a sunflower seed feeder (unfortunately, a tube feeder), which they just found and took possession of. Other birds are intimidated by the sheer numbers of them, so it’s all goldfinches, all the time. I am going to try only refilling the nyjer feeder about 1/3 full so not so many of them can feed at once and, if that fails, take the nyjer feeder down. This is turning into a Hitchcock movie! Also worried about conjunctivitis because of the tube feeder. I just washed all the feeders yesterday but did not use bleach.
Hi Kathie,
There are many people who would envy you. I’ve heard many reports of people who used to have them all the time not seeing any for a long time. Mine, have come back in full force and are also on everything. The funny thing is when the weather turns warmer they seem to lose interest. I don’t know how a bird loses interest in eating-LOL! They don’t go completely away but it can go from 50s to 60s and the feeding traffic seems to cut almost in half. Very odd. Today, for instance, it’s raining and 50 and I’m being mobbed. I’m even finding little birds trying to sleep it off in between feeding on my patio step. Don’t worry, when I knock on the door they fly off. So, I know there’s nothing wrong with them. They’re just tired from all the competition and fussing-HA! You’re smart to take those feeders down and clean them. Did you at least use vinegar? Also, do you have house finches? If so, you’ve REALLY got to watch the tube feeders because they’re the ones who bring it almost exclusively. Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with and thank you for stopping by and commenting! Jeff
My house finches have disappeared. We had some rain and I always bring in my hanging feeders then so as not to waste seed. We live in the central valley of CA and have a small orchards. Until this year, I’ve had hundreds hopping all over the ground to eat the seed I throw out. A few goldfinches are around and feed exclusively from the hanging feeders. We also trapped a feral cat last summer to get rid of that predator. The house finches came back. In early January, we had the weeping birch tree in our front yard pruned pretty severely – it had a lot of dead wood! All the birds used to perch to there watching me as I put out the seed. Now… only a few goldfinches….. A little bit of pruning was done to 3 trees in our backyard, but I only see goldfinches high up in the plum tree at the far end on the orchard. House finches used to make our orange and tangelo trees their home, but no more. I miss my house finches. Do you have any idea where they could have gone and how to lure them back? I did see a white cat a couple of months ago and we set out the same trap we did before to get the feral cat, but nada. And I found bird dove feathers in the orchard, but no sign of that cat anymore. Help!
Hi Sherilynn,
I don’t know of anything that should be keeping your house finches away. The pruning would put the goldfinches off for a bit but not for good. Like most birds, they love to feed where they can escape quickly if they need to. It may take some regrowth to give them that feeling again.
If you have any hopper type feeders with sunflower seed in them that is their favorite.
Good on you for trying to deal with the feral cats. I know they are their own breed but if most people knew what a miserable life outdoor cats lead they would NEVER let them out. Not to mention the hundreds of millions of birds they kill.
I hate to say it but the doves are the ones the hawks in my neighborhood love. Every bird in the back yard can fly away and there’s always one looking like “What? Where did everybody go? Oh well. Just more food for ME.” Usually just minutes before they become lunch.
Do you have any county extension service or wildlife control agency that could help you with your cat issues?
Let me know if I can be of any more help, will you?
Jeff
Thanks for getting back to be so quickly. We do have a great animal control department, so they took care of the cat for me. And, as a matter of fact, the only feathers I’ve seen in the ground were off a dove. My hubby is going to build a couple of platform feeders, so we can rake up all the seed on the ground and try to contain it on the platform feeders. My house finches always feed off the ground, not hanging feeders. I actually saw five or six way out by the plum tree, dropping onto the ground to eat and fluttering back up into the tree when spooked. Thanks again. I’m trying to look out for any other cats. We have the trap…
Hi Sheri,
If you build them, they WILL come-LOL!
My house finches almost exclusively feed off of hanging feeders. Only when it gets too crowded do they pick through the seeds dropped on the ground. And you’re starting off with the right mindset about keeping it clean below. My personal belief is feeding from old, wet, feces-ridden seeds is the precursor to any diseases they may get. Including the eye disease.
Make sure you include a hanging feeder like the Beck’s chickadee feeder with sunflower chips in it. That will bring your goldfinches back in droves, I promise.
I’m sure things will be getting back to normal as soon as your pruned trees start sprouting new growth with leaves.
Do stop by and let me know how things are going when you can.
Enjoy your little ones!
Jeff
Hey Jeff, I figured it out today: A large hawk has been picking off my little friends! I found evidence of it perching in one of my orange trees, as unlikely as that sounds. There were tufts of down and small feathers everywhere. I’ve wrapped several branches with aluminum foil for now. I don’t want to get a hawk deterrent, since that will drive all the birds away. I’m going to let the goldfinches eat up the food in the hanging feeders. I’ve raked and swept up as much ground seed as I can. I’ll ultimately have to take down all the feeders for a month or so to force the hawk along.
Hi Sheri,
I had a feeling it would be a hawk. Keep in mind that many of them maintain a hunting area of up to 2 square miles so taking down the feeders may work while they’re down but they may just reappear once they’re back.
In my back yard, I let nature run its course. I know a lot of people say feeding birds is unnatural and actually creates a threat to them. I don’t hold this belief. I think birds know what they are doing and will not feed anywhere they don’t feel safe. I’m not leading the lambs to slaughter, as they say.
I’ll be interested to hear what happens after your feeders are down and back up.
Thank you for the update,
Jeff
Since I wrapped several branches in my orange and tangelo trees with aluminum foil just 2 days ago, as well as physically chasing the hawk out of my yard, I’ve not seen it again. I know it doesn’t mean it’s gone, but some house finches have returned, especially to the small brush pile I have against the fence. They’re also in the orange trees again. I’m also trying to trap what we think is a cat. So far (2 nights) no luck. The thing actually took all the bait (tuna) right up to the trip plate and somehow tripped it without being trapped.
Thanks for all your hints and encouragement! My hubby will be building two platform feeders out of wood (untreated of course!). One under the orange tree closest to the brush pile and a larger one for the open part of the orchard. We’ll also look into buying some wire (not chicken) to place over the top and down the sides of the larger one to keep out unwanted visitors or predators.
Hi Sheri,
I hate to say it but your hawk WILL be back. I’m glad your house finches have returned in any case. I can’t believe the cat got the bait without being trapped.
The only thing I would add is I’m not a big fan of platform feeders. They require a high level of constant cleaning and disinfecting most people are not willing to do. This endangers the lives of the birds that from them. If you’re ok with that, I say go for it.
I know one of the things that has made our back yard an oasis is our fence. If nothing else, it allows birds to feed and know they’ll have ample warning if anything tries to climb over or under it.
So happy I could help and look forward to hearing more of your progress.
Jeff
Oh, I know the hawk will be back. It’s really my hubby that wants tyke platform feeders – he bought the lumber today. And the worst side of our dilapidated fence is being replaced in a week.
How do I disinfect the platforms???
Hi Sheri,
It’s best if possible for you to soak them in a 10% bleach solution for an hour or so before scrubbing them well with a good, stiff brush. It should be done every week or whenever there is fecal buildup on them. Otherwise, they pose a serious threat to the birds’ health as they stand in and eat from feces-ridden seed.That’s why I don’t care for them. I spend enough time feeding birds as it is and always try to help my readers do things that DECREASE their time spent.
Jeff
Thanks for the advice! I have nothing but time, so I will be able to keep them clean. My husband is building four, so I’ll only use two at a time ?. The bottoms are indoor grade plywood with Redwood sides and they’re set up slightly off the ground. Best thing is that at only 2’X4′ even I can move them using only my right arm. Late stage, chronic Lyme disease has given me much nerve pain on the left side of my neck/arm/hand. I’m also primary caregiver for my mother-in-law and at high risk for COVID myself, so I don’t go out much. LOTS of time! Thanks again! Take care!
Hi Sheri,
One final thing you might consider is seeing if your husband can use some kind of aluminum mesh on the bottoms instead of wood. Makes them so much easier to clean and last forever. Just a thought.
Glad this is a project that you can take on with your current situation! Doing the things we CAN do is so much more important than being sad about what we CAN’T, don’t you think?
Helping your mother-in-law while needing some help yourself is just saintly!
If I can be of any more help you know where to reach me, right? LOL!
Best to you and yours! Stay safe!
Jeff
Hi Sheri,
I just finished watching a Brome Bird Care video where the resident ornithologist, Dr. Bird (no kidding) said the birds will come back to your yard way before the hawk does. Here’s the video and it starts around 5:56.
https://bromebirdcare.com/bbn-5-05-salmonellosis-hawks-taking-feeder-birds-coffee-grind-spa-treatment/
Jeff
I can’t thank you enough for all your help! This will be very helpful to me, I know it’ll help a lot. BTW, no luck with the cat; my hubby suspects it may be a small fox (we live right across from a creek, so we have them…). I’m moving the trap into my neighbor’s high weeds tonight and trying one more time. If I’m defeated again, I’ll just have to wait for our new fence ) coming next week.
Hi Sheri,
So glad I could help.
Let me know how you go with your cat (fox?) and fence, will you?
Jeff
I’m actually overrun by house finches and trying to understand if I can do something to slow them down. I have two tube feeders that I fill with black oil sunflower seed and sunflower hearts. The finches come and stay all day until the feeders are empty. I thought sparrows were bad!
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for stopping by and telling us what’s going on in your neck of the woods. I know house finches can absolutely mob feeders if they’re not discouraged in any way.
There’s two things I do when I need to discourage house finches (like when I spot the eye disease) in my back yard.
1. Take all your feeders for a couple of weeks.
2. Put up feeders they’re not as keen on like upside-down nyjer seed feeders.
This is from the assumption that you have goldfinches that the house finches are bullying or otherwise discouraging.
Let me know a little more about your situation and your goals and I can refine my suggestions even more. This is a good time to work on this before winter sets in and you run the risk of that mob being sick with the eye disease they get.
Jeff
I moved into a new house in Central New Jersey last year and started setting up my bird-feeding station outside a picture window to my backyard. Once I started using a combination of Nyjer seed and sunflower hearts in a mesh feeder and another tube feeder with tiny holes and a spiral perch ring, the number of Goldfinches (our state bird) exploded. During peak feeding times we’ve counted 35+ Goldfinches at a time. I have six other feeders and a ground-feeding brush pile with various kinds of food for the 17 other species we’ve seen at this station, but these two feeders with the combination of fresh Nyjer seed and fresh sunflower hearts almost exclusively attract so many Goldfinches!
Here’s a video of the two feeders from which ‘my’ Goldfinches love to eat a combination of fresh Nyjer seed and fine sunflower hearts. Once I started using this combination, they started flocking to these two feeders especially. Almost no other birds come to these two feeders now,
Hi Robert,
Another great video! I have to ask: you don’t have much trouble with house finches? I simply can’t put an upright feeder out that they don’t try to take it over which irritates the goldfinches, I know.
Oh, and after a cold snap and oddball snow the other day, the goldies came right back! I just don’t understand what they eat when that happens.
Jeff
Jeff
I get some house finches at a big feeder that only has sunflower hearts in it. They used to compete with the Goldfinches at that feeder, but they never come to these two feeders that have a combination of thistle and fine sunflower hearts. Only the Goldfinches come to these two feeders except very rarely when an occasional Dark-eyed Junco or Mourning Dove goes for the seed that has fallen at the base of the yellow feeder. Now the Goldfinches very much prefer these two feeders and only go to the other feeders when these two are completely over-crowded. I’ve had as many as 15 Goldfinches try to feed at the yellow feeder at one time. The secret seems to be the very fresh mix of Nyjer and very fine sunflower hearts that I get at WBU. The Goldfinches go crazy for it and the house finches don’t seem to like it or these kinds of feeders or both. They seem to like the feeders where they stick their heads all the way into the stalls.
Hi Robert,
I’m going to have to find some of that fine sunflower chips. The last time I was at WBU they only had the hulled seeds. Not even hearts. A feeding client of mine has gotten some a year ago and she was also going through it like water.
I can’t imagine you don’t have squirrels. Do they not wreak havoc on or near those feeders? They’ll KILL for sunflower seed in any form-LOL!
I guess it doesn’t surprise me that the house finches aren’t a problem if nyjer is involved. The entire 18+ years I’ve been feeding, they only eat nyjer if there is NOTHING else. It’s clearly not their favorite. I didn’t think that combining nyjer and something they would eat might taint the recipe. Hmmmmm. Always learning.
Jeff
My local WBU sells the Nyjer & fine sunflower hearts mix as “Finch Blend”. The fine print says it comes from Lizzie Mae. They list it on their website as Finch Favorite:
https://lizziemaesbirdseed.com/our-bird-seeds/wild-bird-seed/blends/
The squirrels are completely stumped by the iron WBU squirrel baffle on my pole. One jumped from the table that has the birdbath to one of the natural branches but he wasn’t able to hold on. I’ve since moved that table further away so he doesn’t even try any more. I don’t mind feeding the squirrels in my brush pile. That seems to allow the ground-feeding birds access even while the squirrels are getting access where they can. All the nooks and crannies prevent the squirrels from dominating the whole brush pile. Here’s a video of my current brush pile:
Sorry, Robert,
I didn’t see the baffle until now. I thought the feeders were just at room level off the patio. I got a raccoon baffle first thing and NOTHING has ever gotten past it. Moving your feeders was smart too because I’ve seen squirrels jump down more than 20 ft from an overhead tree. Anybody who underestimates them pays the price-LOL!
I feed my squirrels in a box and corn cob feeder at the back of my fence and on a squngee on the side of the yard. Watching them bounce up and down on it is worth the price of admission. Your brush pile is awesome!
I think I’ve honestly seen something from Pennington at Walmart that’s nyjer and fine sunflower. I’ll have to take another look. Thanks for the LizzieMae link!
Here’s three articles I wrote that I think you might enjoy and connect with:
Making a Pact with Squirrels
Why I Love My Squirrels
How to Feed Squirrels Successfully
And one more from our discussion about the value of just sitting:
Top 5 Benefits of Paying Attention
Let me know if anything strikes your fancy and what you thought.
Jeff
HI, our mom has been in a care center now for 8 years when mom first went there we put up a finch feeder and filled it with cracked sun flower seeds, in tow days to was so full of birds we had to put up another feeder, then another feeder, after 8 years of feeding them they are now going through a gallon and a half EVERY DAY ! If a finch eats a teaspoon a day there are 720 teaspoons in a gallon we are feeding over 720 finches ! There are finches at the feeders all day long
Hi Ernie,
Man, are you one lucky person! And your consistent feeding of them shows that it WILL eventually pay off. I’ve been feeding my birds for over 20 years and still see new patterns developing constantly. Like my “resident” bluebird family who checks on “their” house all throughout the year until they’re ready to nest like now. Yesterday and today, mom and pop have been furiously stuffing this box with nesting and it’s great!
I know that sunflower chips can get expensive at that level but think of all the money you’re saving on therapy-LOL!
My goldfinches are a light switch bunch that I still haven’t understood. The temps go down to 50 and they’re mobbing it. Back up over 70 and it’s like they couldn’t care if they ate again-LOL!
I know it’s the last thing you want to hear but with that much traffic there’s a real threat of disease. Especially if you have house finches around. Consider adding another feeder if you can and remember to clean them at least once/month with the 1:9 bleach mixture.
Good on you for doing this for all these wonderful additions to your family!
Jeff
Hi! We have a chubby little goldfinch that is staying very near our house. We’ll see him fall in asleep on the edge of the birdbath or in our tomato plants or in the branch of a tree. We can see that he flies but are worried about him because he spend a lot of time here. We do feed goldfinches but usually they eat and then fly away. They don’t stay for hours on end. Should we be worried?
Hi Janet,
Your concerns are, unfortunately, well founded. This poor little bird is probably not well or near the end of its life. I’m sorry to have to tell you this and I’m NOT a vet but the chubbiness is usually a bad sign. Unless it’s a youngster. The sitting in one place is also indicative of a problem. You could call your local animal rehab facility and ask them for help. I’m afraid he/she probably won’t be around much longer.
Give them a call and see what they can do.
Best,
Jeff