Suggestions would be appreciated!

I have too many House Finches. They are keeping my favorite birds from getting to the feeders. I tried adding a third sunflower seed feeder some distance away to lure them, but they still hog the two supposedly squirrel-proof hoppers. The big problem is they sit and stay. The Black-Capped Chickadees, the Tufted Titmouses (Titmice?) and the Nuthatches usually dive in, grab a seed and fly off, but they're having trouble getting onto the feeder. I put out a thistle feeder, bit only the Goldfinches are using it.

Anyone have any ideas? (I did some Googling, and came up empty-handed except for one suggestion to buy a very expensive upside-down feeder*. Only birds that can hang upside down can get the seed.)

*Found the website: http://www.cedar-works.com/newsite/bird_info4.html It was #5. Maybe I should see if I can remove the perch from one of the hoppers...

Darn Westerners!

:oD

Hey, at least they aren't House Sparrows.

Darn Eurasians!

Actually, I hear old Passer Domesticus is declining in some areas, particularly Great Britain?

We have those too, but they don't seem to hang around my feeders. I do get flocks of Starlings, speaking of Eurasians. I've learned to hang my suet still in the plastic tray, so only the birds that can cling upside down can eat it.

I'm assuming you want to keep birds off the ground because of cats...

How about tying a string to one of your feeders and shake 'em off until they learn (ha!) they're allowed the use of the other?

I do some ground feeding. Juncos will rarely use my feeders, for some reason. We have Bobcats in the area.

The good news is that my newest feeder appears to be unappealing to my House Finches! I asked for it for Christmas because it has no actual perches. It holds 6 pounds of seed and it wasn't very expensive. Here's a picture from the Duncraft website.

It looks lovely - let us know how it works out

yes let us know how the feeder works out. I'm wondering if squirrels could pilfer it.

Yes, the House are indeed declining quite dramatically in England. Some areas (e.g. London) that used to have significant populations are often devoid of them.

I've had no porblems with House Sparrows it just about the only bird I regularly see. However we have no finches visiting us as all. ever. Not one in 10 years.

There is a finch virus going around and they are being badly hit. So maybe just appreciate them while you can?

My only other suggestion is try a variety of different seeds in different feeders. i don't think tits and nuthatches (lucky you!) would necessarily want the same type of foods as finches. It will take them a few weeks to find each new feeder though.

#9 - I have a squirrel baffle on the post. It works well. (Except we just got almost two feet of snow, so I'll have to keep an eye on things!)

#11 - Our problem with them is that they like to use the same nests as our indigenous species, and some of those species are now in decline. http://www.wildbirdhabitatstore.com/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=115 I don't notice them much here, but my brother has a problem with them in New Hampshire.

The House Finches I have swarm every kind of food I put out. So far things seem to be okay, though. I've only seen one of them use the new feeder since it's been up.

>7 clamairy: "Juncos will rarely use my feeders, for some reason"

Juncos are usually ground feeders. I've found that if you have spilled feed from the feeders, the juncos will find it.

#13 - Yes. I actually deliberately dump a mix for them on the ground and for the Doves. I do occasionally see one at my hoppers, though. I am curious as to why some are more adventurous than others. I guess they're just like people in that respect. Same with the Cardinals, actually. They seem to prefer wooden perches, but all of my feeders have metal or plastic perches now. They will use the others when they are hungry enough.

I had a problem with mobs of house finches. They would park their little butts on all four perches of my cylindrical squirrel-proof bird feeder, preventing native birds from getting to any seeds. Kinda like people who order a cup of tea at a crowded restaurant and take up a table all day.

Here's a simple suggestion that is working very well for me:

Other birds will cling to a vertical wire grid to get seed, but house finches don't like to, and when/if they do, they're not inclined to stay very long. So I removed two of four perches from the feeder. The perches just clip on, so it was very easy. Now house finches sometimes take up the two remaining perches, but at least the other two seed openings remain available for other birds. I did not remove all the perches because some desirable birds, like Cardinals, prefer them.

Peace in the valley again!