How to Get Goldfinches to Eat From Your Hand

Goldfinches are one of the latest birds to nest. American Goldfinches do not nest until sometime in June or July. If you want to get American Goldfinches to eat from your hand, a good time to work on it would be in August or later. By then they are settled in their homes and have been around long enough to start getting used to you and their environment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Hang a thistle bird feeder out. Thistle is their favorite seed, so a feeder offering fresh thistle encourages them to choose your yard for nesting. Place the feeder close to the house where the goldfinches see you often and get used to your presence and movement.
2. Place a chair under the thistle feeder and start sitting out in the chair after several goldfinches have found the feeder and are visiting it frequently. Continue sitting under the feeder until the goldfinch are no longer scared by your presence and comfortably eat from the feeder while you sit below it.
3. Put a small handful of thistle seed near your foot when you sit down under the thistle feeder. A good time to move to this next step is when the thistle feeder is getting close to empty, but isn't empty yet. Repeat this process each day until the birds get comfortable eating the seed near your foot.
4. Sit in your chair and put the thistle seed in the palm of your outstretched hand. Cup your hand slightly, raise your fingers just a little bit to serve as a landing post and create a slight ramp for the goldfinch to walk down to reach the thistle.
5. Remain very still and wait. It may take several days of sitting outside before the goldfinch finally land on your hand to eat.

Tips & Warnings

• If after several days of sitting out with thistle seed in your hand, you still do not have the goldfinch eating from your hand, try holding a small dish in your outstretched hand. After the birds start coming to the dish you are holding, try putting the seed in your palm again.
• You can also encourage goldfinches to your yard by planting thistle plants. Leave the plants to dry in the ground for fall and winter feeding.