Advice please?! We have been very successful with mixed seed and fat balls in our small suburban garden in Hampshire, attracting sparrows, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, plus other birds who hoover up underneath, like the robin, dunnocks, wood pigeons and collared doves. A very occasional greenfinch. But when we put out nyger seed in early July, in a brand new feeder, we had no customers at all for a month! We have gone back to mixed seed. Any ideas, whether or when we should try the nyger seed again? Thanks.
My nyjer usually remains untouched during the summer, but goes quite quickly in the winter because of the sheer number of goldies and redpolls I get. (Showing off here LOL). The goldies only eat sunflower hearts in the summer, but eat both equally in the winter. The redpolls only eat the nyjer, with just an odd exception.
Cheers, Linda.
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My goldfinches eat nyger seed all year in huge quantities, so I am not in quite the same position as others. As the sunflower hearts get low in the feeders, the goldies use the nyger seed to keep them going till I have filled up again. Also if the sunflower heart feeders are full, the nyger seed is used by the others who can't wait for their turn!
Doggie and Sparrow, I buy huge bags of nyger seed, but am very grateful for your link Sparrow - anything I can save is great, although I have a local supplier who does offer some very competitive prices.
I agree with everyone else about not putting nyger seed out at all unless you have goldies coming to the feeders.
What an awful mess the seed makes! But where would we be without our little finches...
bye for now
I had the same problem, then I changed to white sunflower hearts. It is also placed out in the open in the middle of the lawn. Result now have so many Goldfinches with there young eating both hearts and nyger seed.
Just love it.........
Robert
Last winter I used up some dried out nyjer by adding it to my fat cake mix, although I have to say my lot don't seem to mind if it's gone a bit dry I don't buy it in bulk though. There was a warning on a thread a month or two ago about adding oil to nyjer - to be careful not to over do the oil as it does more harm than good.
lorraine r said:Hi Sparrow, That is interesting about the warning of the oil.
Hi Lolly,
This is the thread where Ian the Mod gave us the warning about adding oil to seeds.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/f/14005/p/50545/337640.aspx#337640
Cin J