I've noticed the same thing with them completely refusing thistle starting at about the same time (3-4 years ago) after many years of devouring thistle with the same feeder set up with sunflower seed nearby. Now they are only eating sunflower no matter how many times I put out fresh thistle....about to give up on it.
John Malenich Boulder, CO On Monday, May 29, 2023 at 6:48:50 PM UTC-6 Chip Clouse wrote: > Hulled sunflower gives higher caloric value for less work as it doesn't > have to be cracked to be eaten. I think your birds have just gotten > smarter, that's all. > > Cheers, > Chip Clouse > Lakewood > > On Mon, May 29, 2023, 2:13 PM Jim Tyler <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Birders - >> >> I’ve noticed a change in Goldfinch (both American and Lesser) behavior >> over the past 6 years or so. >> >> I live in Roxborough Village, and going back 5-6 years, we had a dramatic >> increase in the numbers of Goldfinches. Two foot-tall mesh thistle feeders >> would be covered with a dozen Goldfinches each, with easily a dozen or more >> waiting to feed. It was normal for them to consume 1/2 to 2/3 of the seed >> from each feeder daily. >> >> Local populations crashed roughly 3-4 years ago, with almost no >> Goldfinches showing up at my feeders. Oddly, at that time, I noticed that >> the remaining Goldfinches had gravitated to my (shelled) sunflower seed >> feeders. This continued for a roughly 3 years, with only one or two >> Goldfinches showing up at a time. >> >> So far, this seemed normal as populations shift, and Goldfinches are >> known to eat sunflowers, but they were completely ignoring my thistle >> feeders. >> >> This year has brought more Goldfinches - as many as 10 at a time - but >> the unusual thing is that they ALL are eating sunflower seeds and ALL >> ignoring my thistle feeders. >> >> I dumped all my older seed and have completely refilled my thistle >> feeders twice, and have moved one to the front yard, but the Goldfinches >> continue to eschew my thistle feeders and in both front and back yards now >> exclusively eat sunflower seeds. >> >> At the same time, House Finches are also ignoring my thistle feeders. >> >> While it’s possible I’ve purchased a bad or old batch of thistle, I’d >> like to think that the bird supply retailer I use hasn’t received bad seed. >> >> So my question to the group is whether anyone else is seeing Goldfinches >> at their feeders refusing to eat thistle? >> >> Thanks! >> >> Jim Tyler >> >> -- >> > -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "Colorado Birds" group. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en >> * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. >> Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate >> * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Colorado Birds" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/e95e7795-c4f8-42d5-6a96-98eedc5be7bb%40comcast.net >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/e95e7795-c4f8-42d5-6a96-98eedc5be7bb%40comcast.net?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/85b0bd70-66e0-42af-81bd-cbdcc3aa7ab0n%40googlegroups.com.
