The Lemon Fool

My visiting goldfinches seem to have changed their eating habits. Evolution in action?

After a few years of putting out niger seeds, the goldfinches are now completely ignoring them and have moved on to the sunflower seeds. They continue with the same niger seed habit of just sitting on the little peg perches for ages munching away and throwing half on the ground.

So now all the small birds are competing around the single sunflower seed feeder.

Our goldfinches were never that keen on niger seeds. About 5 or 6 years ago, we gave up and they just munch sunflower kernels (in large amounts).

Also, birds that typically ground feed (robins, dunnocks) have slowly learnt to use the feeders, generally sunflower kernels again. (We buy them in 18 kg sacks).

Tits seem to eat anything you put out.

A new one on me, a tree creeper on a peanut feeder, at my local trout pond.

I tried peanuts in a feeder like that, but when it rained they turned to mush.

I normally blend up a mix of suet pellets, mealworms, peanuts, mixed seeds and whatever else B&M have on offer.

I have never found garden birds much interested in suet pellets, although I always put out a suet block with embedded seeds which the long tailed tits in particular like.

Nimrod, I don't think its new. I bought niger seeds specifically for them and they got wasted and they prefered sunflowers hearts.

Gerry557 wrote:Nimrod, I don't think its new. I bought niger seeds specifically for them and they got wasted and they prefered sunflowers hearts.

It's new in my garden. I was wondering whether this is a bit of evolution in operation. I read somewhere that evolution is operating on tits, with those tits having longer beaks being favourably selected because they can acess bird feeders more easily.

As I recall, I never saw a goldfinch until niger seeds were put on sale, and then they suddenly turned up in my neighbourhood. Now they are here they have moved on to something more nourishing.

Maybe mine evoluted earlier than yours.

My Goldfinches didn't like the Niger feeder but the Sparrow hawk liked the goldfinches on tall sunflower feeder.

I didn't think it would come so close especially as we were a couple of feet away but it had a nice choice of birds to choose from.