Goldfinches in the garden

Hello,

There are a lot of goldfinches around my house/street just outside Leeds but they never seem to land. They're on tv aerials and on top of houses each day but I have never seen them feed. I put out a feeder for them with nyjer seeds and even added a little thistle to attract them. They're obviously feeding elsewhere (which I'm of course happy about!) but I'm wondering if I keep the feeder up in case their current food source dries up (I just mean for the summer as I would definitely make sure it's back for the winter) and also if there's anything else I can do to make my garden appeal to them. 

Thanks in advance,

Hep

  • Hi heptograph,

    I've found the goldfinches that visit me really like sunflower hearts, may be worth putting out a second feeder with these in? They will also attract other species to.

    How long have you had your feeders in place? it can take weeks until they feel comfortable enough with something new.

    id also look at the placement if the feeder.

    There's various lines of advice on when to feed, I keep my feeders out all year round and the visitors increase or decrease in frequency depending on the availability of natural resources.

    hope this helps!
  • Hello Heptograph, can't really add any extra information. I also feed sunflower hearts and they love them and likewise feed all year round. You will get many different visitors during the year once they find where to come to for food. Enjoy.
  • Thank you both for your help! The feeder has been up for a couple of weeks now. I only moved into this house a month ago so it might be that they will do their own thing in summer and then need some help with food in the winter. I'm not sure what the patterns are and that's actually really exciting.

    I've got some sunflower hearts out as well, and they're definitely popular with other birds! We had a goldfinch on our back fence once, but that's the only time I've seen them land anywhere at all. I absolutely love hearing them and seeing them every day, and selfishly I'd like them to get a little bit closer :)