Go For The Gold
BY THE WILD BIRD CENTER, WEATHERFORD, TX
Every four years we watch in awe as
the best in the world go for Olympic
gold. They spend years training for
this moment in the sun. On other
playing fields–the backyards of
North America–we seek a different
kind of gold. Our reward is the ever-
popular American Goldfinch. The
challenge, of course, is to get them
to come to our feeders, bringing joy
and beauty to our gardens and our
lives.
Fortunately, just as for Olympic
athletes, technology and science
are aiding our quest. Products that
will lure large flocks of muted yellow
(this time of year until spring) or
crayon-yellow birds (a few weeks
before they leave us to migrate north
in the spring) to our feeding stations
are being introduced all the time,
and our body of knowledge about
goldfinch feeding preference is also
increasing.
Food and Feeder Solutions
Unlike many other birds that come
to our feeders, goldfinches eat
seed almost exclusively. They even
feed their young partially digested
seed. So our feeders are even more
important for them than for other
species. Perched at and around our
feeders, goldfinches eat seed after
seed. This gives us wonderful oppor-
tunities to watch them at length. In
addition, their habit of traveling in
flocks can mean that their bright
or muted yellow (depending on the
time of year) color and cheerful
songs are abundant in our gardens.
Their favorite feeder foods are hulled
sunflower seed, black oil sunflower
and of course, Nyjer ® seed.
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One of the keys to keeping gold-
finches around is eliminating their
need to compete. Goldfinches will
often just give up and fly away when
other species crowd around the
feeder. Nyjer seed is an especially
good seed for goldfinches because
so few other species like to eat it.
Unfortunately, House Finches are
among the few other species that do
enjoy thistle, so some feeders have
Upside Down Feeder
been designed to give goldfinches a competitive edge against these larger,
more aggressive cousins.
The Down Under feeder, developed and patented by George Petrides,
founder of the Wild Bird Centers of America, Inc., is one such product. While
experience has shown the goldfinches will happily eat upside down, house
finches are more reluctant to do so. By forcing the goldfinch to literally feed
upside down with ports positioned below the perches, most other birds are
deterred, providing a peaceful place for goldfinches to feed!