Katy Dickinson

Finch Fest

I recently purchased a finch feeder and hung it on the railing of our upstairs deck - well above where the neighborhood cats lurk. The two nearest trees are a lemon and an almond with no big branches within cat leaping distance. Living on the Guadalupe River in San Jose, California, our yard is home to wild birds of all kinds. This is at least the third finch feeder in our immediate neighborhood - Jamie has one and Linda does too - but there seem to be more than enough little birds for everyone.

The lady in the shop where I bought the tube feeder (an Aspects Nyjer Mesh Feeder) said there are seven types of finches in California. She recommended Nyjer Thistle (or black thistle) seeds as a favorite food. I don't know the names of our birds but they are mostly green or yellow with black and white accents. I am reading about finches on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology "All About Birds" web site.

No finches showed interest when we first put up the feeder; however, a month later the little greedy guts are going through a full tube of seed every few days. The brick walkway below the feeder is black with chaff and spilled seed. My husband said our local mourning doves and smaller songbirds eat the thistle seed that falls.

The finches constantly squabble and peck and peep at each other when not actually eating. They do not seem to care whether they are up, down, or sideways when eating. They look around and shift position regularly and all flit off at any danger sign. (We slowly sneak up on them to take pictures.) I feel peaceful watching these lively little birds.

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 09:20PM Sep 07, 2008 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |