How to Attract Goldfinches

Tiny goldfinches, with their beautiful yellow breeding plumage, are popular feeder birds throughout the year. If you see some in your area, provide a feeder for them, and they're likely to come flocking!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Birdseeds
• Black-oil Sunflower Seeds
• Satellite Feeders
• Tube Seed Bird Feeders
• Hulled Sunflower Seeds
• Plastic Storage Containers

1. Purchase a tube seed feeder with several feeding ports appropriate for smaller birds.

2. Purchase black-oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds or niger seed.

3. Fill feeder with seed.

4. Hang feeder from a tree or another appropriate location.

Tips & Warnings

• Goldfinches can be found throughout most of the United States at all times of the year.
• Hulled sunflower seeds are more expensive than those in the shell but are very popular with birds and save you the chore of cleaning up sunflower hulls.
• Other species of birds, including siskins, nuthatches, house finches, grosbeaks and jays, may be attracted to sunflower seeds.
• Make sure feeding ports on your feeder are small enough to contain niger seed if you choose to offer it.
• Goldfinches will also eat seeds out of hopper feeders, satellite feeders and off the ground.
• Clean seed feeders regularly and avoid letting wet or damp seed remain in feeders.

[retired07]

on 6/26/2009 I've gone through so much Niger seed & I haven't lured one Goldfinch to the feeder. I've done all of your Tips & Warnings. Once in a while I'll see them at the neighbors or flying though the yard. So I finally got tired of throwing money away so I took the feeder down. Do you have any more tips?

on 11/22/2005 I made a feeder out of a plastic soft drink bottle.The hole was big enough that a dove got inside, but couldn/t get out. I had to pull her out. She was so frightened! So please watch the size of the feeding port. I sure learned my lesson!