are we feeding russian goldfinches?

[storye_book]

i've just spotted a western siberian goldfinch on the feeder - carduelis carduelis major - it's slightly bigger and paler, i suppose, but the clincher is the larger amount of red round the face, extending much further behind the eye than on the british male goldfinch (britannica).

the birdbooks say that we get influxes of them from russia in the winter. could this partly explain why we've got so many goldfinches right now?

there are plenty of pix of these on the internet if you google for images of carduelis major, but here's one:
http://www.birds.kz/Carduelis%20carduelis%20major/largee.html?4&22 (http://www.birds.kz/Carduelis%20carduelis%20major/largee.html?4&22)

with these better bins i've spotted something else as well. watching the goldfinches feed from the new-style feeder (ports and ring-perches) they are shoving their heads in, getting mouthfuls of seed, and getting seed all over their faces, chomping away as fast as they can, and dropping seed everywhere, then shoving their heads in again - a bit like the way we used to lick our fingers and shove them into a sherbert fountain when we were kids. no wonder they waste all that seed that falls into the tray.

[PiratesAhoy!]

I tend to think we get a lot of migrant goldfinches, but I've never consciously looked for a 'major' before. Now I will be on the lookout - thanks Storye :)

Goldfinches are the messiest finches in our garden. Even though the greenies can pile a load of husks up so it nearly touches the feeder, there's something about the niger (nijer, nyjer, whatever) seed that just makes it seem more messy. Nasty and sticky and mouldy when it gets wet too - ewwww!

Strange you mention the ring-perch feeders. Our goldies hate our 'defender' with the ring-perches. They much prefer the plastic ones with the stick-perch and small holes, so they can 'tease' the seed out, rather than shoving their heads in and troughing-out. I guess ours have developed table manners ;)

[storye_book]

hi piratesahoy!

i have both types of nyger feeder and have been comparing them for some time. neither is perfect, but the ringperch/ports feeder is the best on balance, i think - i just wish cj would make a bigger one, with more ports. here are my reasons:

1. OLD-TYPE FEEDER (STICKPERCH/HOLES)
wind, swinging and bird-feeding makes food fall out of this feeder continually, so that it empties four times faster than the ringperch/port feeder. yes the goldfinches clearly prefer it, as they can see to choose their seed, so they fill up the old (stickperch) feeder first.

2. NEW-TYPE FEEDER (RINGPERCH/PORTS)
wind and swinging can't empty this feeder. however seed still rains down, filling the tray every couple of days, because seed sticks to birds' heads and beaks and falls off. but it still empties four times more slowly than the old-style feeder, thus saving expensive seed, and cutting down the mess. although the birds fill up the old-style feeder first, they don't hesitate to use the new ringperch feeder, and it's full of birds every day. i've now bought a second ringperch feeder for my other site, and it too fills up with birds.

3. BIGGER NEW-TYPE FEEDERS NEEDED
due to the influx of goldfinches this winter, a ringperch/port nyger feeder with double the amount of perches would be very useful. i look forward to seeing one next winter in the cj catalogue??


Strange you mention the ring-perch feeders. Our goldies hate our 'defender' with the ring-perches. They much prefer the plastic ones with the stick-perch and small holes, so they can 'tease' the seed out, rather than shoving their heads in and troughing-out. I guess ours have developed table manners ;)

[Shamal]

Strange you mention the ring-perch feeders. Our goldies hate our 'defender' with the ring-perches. They much prefer the plastic ones with the stick-perch and small holes, so they can 'tease' the seed out, rather than shoving their heads in and troughing-out. I guess ours have developed table manners ;)

Exactly the same here, I was surprised to find they preferred the old versions with the tiny holes.

Even in the strongest winds (yesterday!!), hardly any seeds are lost because of the design, which seems contrary to storybooke's findings.

[storye_book]

hi shamal

you are saying that you have an old-design (holes and stickperch) nyger feeder, and the wind/swinging doesn't blow any seed out. i am wondering if this is because you have a different make of feeder from mine. my old nyger feeder is not one of cj's - it has a domed metal lid. maybe that explains it? the holes might be too big or something?

if cj's old-style nyger feeders are windproof and wasteproof - and the goldies prefer them - maybe they could sell both designs, so that we have a choice? The old sort was certainly easier to clean. When you reassemble the ring-perch ones, you need an extra hand to put in the rings.

re the birdseed name nyger/niger/nyjer - i can see why birdfood suppliers have to be careful to make the public pronounce it correctly (so as to avoid an impolite word) but i think it would be simpler if they just called it 'thistle seed' and 'thistle feeders' as the americans do. well, cj is going into the american market, so maybe we'll see a name-change soon?

Exactly the same here, I was surprised to find they preferred the old versions with the tiny holes.

Even in the strongest winds (yesterday!!), hardly any seeds are lost because of the design, which seems contrary to storybooke's findings.

[Shamal]

Here's a photo of one of my nijer feeders. I believe it is one of CJ's after they got their U.S. manufacturer to move the height of the seed aperture, as the early ones were designed for the American Goldfinch, which is a smaller bird than the Euro.
As you can see, seed doesn't get out of these easily.

[storye_book]

hi shamal

crrrikey, that is a small aperture, compared to the ones on my feeder. that explains a lot. when it's daylight, i'll get a photo of mine, so you'll see what i mean.

[PiratesAhoy!]

That's about the same size aperture on the ones I have too. The ones the goldfinches prefer eating from, that is.

[Jenny]

Hi Storye Book,

The sudden influx of goldfinches over last two years made me wonder if we are getting invaders but (fortuitously) "my" goldfinches posed still for long enough to check that they're British lot!

After the bullying tactics of the goldfinches during my birdwatch, have decided that I need second nyjer feeder but want the old CJ one not the ring variety from what folks here are saying. I live in a very windy spot and it's hard enough with the old one like Shamal has stuck on a pole - larger ports would be a disaster financially!!!:eek: J