Until recently, I was a very sad birding enthusiast. I had a few birdfeeders in my backyard, but all they seemed to attract were noncolorful blackbirds and morning doves.
A goldfinch perched on the thistle seed sock feeder in my home’s backyard.
That was until I purchased a very simple and inexpensive netted sock bird feeder (“thistle sack”) from a local grocery store. Filled with nyjer/thistle seed, the sock has been attracted beautiful black and yellow Eastern Goldfinches (New Jersey’s state bird) to my backyard daily. The birds are so colorful that it looks like wild canaries are flocking to my backyard.
The great part about the new finch feeder in my backyard is that the other birds that had been frequenting our feeders ignore the new sock feeder, allowing the finches to feed in peace.
Now, my daughters love to watch the goldfinches as the children eat breakfast each morning.
Landscaping for Finches
I’ve recently learned that finches love the tops of dandelions, so I guess our relatively ungroomed backyard is an attraction to the birds. I’ve also read that finches loves the tops of marigolds, so I may be planting some of those to further attract the feathered beauties to my home’s backyard.
Check out the New England Birdhouse blog for more tips on “going for the gold” and attracting finches to the backyard. Happy birding!
Great article, exactly what I wanted to find.