Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Harrison[_2_]
Shy? I'll agree it took a while for the goldfinches to discover my niger.
Even then they were irregular visitors but last year I started using
sunflower seed as well and now they are regular visitors using both the
niger and sunflower feeders. But shy? I don't think so. Stolid is a
word I'd use. They take up residence of a perch of a feeder and get stuck
in, stop for a rest, carry on, have another rest, etc. All this time other
small birds are appearing and trying to take up residence. A lot of the
time the goldfinches simply ignore the intruders, occasionally they stretch
a wing to persuade another bird to back off. They only retreat when a
starling appears. The local woodpecker has a similar approach - gets stuck
into the peanuts and won't allow anyone else on "his" feeder.
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Yes, that's my experience too - the goldfinches won't bother to leave the feeder unless you're closer than about 10ft, and even then they' hang around in the nearest small tree till you get out of the way. The only things that glue themselves more firmly to a feeder are greenfinches, who will stay a good 15 mins (although they're a bit more nervous about humans)
Long tailed tits are even tamer - it's easy to find yourself in the middle of a flock, with the nearest birds only 3-4 ft away.
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