Thistle Feeders or Nyjer Feeders

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Gold star ratings & reviews for nyjer feeders & seed here on this page.

Thistle Feeders/Nyjer Feeders are Great Attractors for Goldfinches

1. General Review of  Nyjer/Thistle Feeders

Thistle feeders, or as they are more commonly known, nyjer (sometimes spelt niger) seed feeders, make a great addition to any backyard because of their amazing attraction power.

Nyjer seed feeders are just what the “bird” doctor ordered if you want to attract Goldfinches to your yard.

The prospect of dozens of brightly colored yellow birds flitting about my backyard brings a big smile to my face.

Remember that Goldfinches are year-round visitors to your backyard. However, you may not recognize them as easily in the winter.

As winter approaches, the males undergo a cosmetic change.

Their brilliant yellow fades and it is difficult to tell them apart from the paler females.

Goldfinches will nosh on many different bird seeds, but thistle seed, which is also known as nyjer seed, is their very favorite food.

So, if you keep a well-stocked thistle feeder in your backyard, you will have flocks of visitors twelve months of the year.

2. List of Styles:

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• A Goldfinch feeder can also come in other shapes than a tube. Some nyjer seed feeders are designed very similarly to a chalet feeder, but with the seed openings much smaller and a perch for the little birds to sit on.

Thistle Seed Feeders I Recommend
With Gold Star Rating

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Thistle Seed & Finch Mixed Seed
(Finches love mixed seed too, but maybe not quite as much as straight thistle seed.)

3. Best Seed Choices

Surprise! Thistle bird seed or also called nyjer seed. (Couldn’t resist.) ;)

4. Positives For This Type of Feeder

• Attracts American Goldfinches in droves and they are a delight to watch. (Learn more about feeding finches.)
  

• Another positive feature of the thistle bird feeder is that the perches are too difficult to manage and ports are too small to allow Black Birds, Starlings or most other nuisance birds the opportunity to feed. Consequently, your thistle seed will be consumed only by a few types of birds, the ones you want.

5. Problems for Thistle Feeders

• Nyjer seed is a very small, light-weight black seed. It is so small that ordinary bird feeders cannot hold the thistle seeds. Even a gentle breeze will knock the nyjer out the ports and on to the ground.
  

• Nyjer seed is not inexpensive, but well worth it.

So, the answer to this problem is simple. You need to pay a visit to your local wild bird store and purchase a thistle feeder. These cylindrical feeders have tiny narrow port holes. This means that the seeds cannot easily fall out or be blown away.

• Where you locate your thistle bird feeder in your backyard is important too. Although the Finches and Chickadees are very social and not afraid to visit feeders located almost anywhere in your yard, Goldfinches are nervous birds. Therefore you may have to place your thistle seed feeder in several locations before you find the spot that suits these skittish little fellows.

6. User Opinions

I have never heard a negative comment concerning the use of a nyjer seed feeder, except for 2 things:

1. The expense of purchasing thistle seed.

2. Disappearing birds during seasonal changes.

Most bird watchers are delighted with the entertainment provided by their visitors to a thistle bird feeder.

7. List of Birds Attracted to This Feeder

American Goldfinch

House Finch

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin

Chickadee

But thistle feeders do not only attract Goldfinches. House Finches, Purple Finches and Chickadees love to join the hoards of Goldfinches at thistle feeders.

But, the dining guests are not limited to these birds. We have often seen Mourning Doves and Sparrows of various kinds on the ground below our nyjer seed feeder, cleaning up the nyjer seeds that have been spilled from the feeder.

Other birds as they migrate through our area will stop in too, such as Juncos in the autumn.

So if you want your backyard alive with color, cheery sounds and lots of wild bird activity put out a thistle feeder and enjoy!

All About Bird Feeders

• How to Clean Seed Feeders When we make the decision to draw wild birds to our backyards with feeders, baths or houses we also, whether we first realize it or not, must be committed to keeping them clean.
  

• How to Feed Finches? Feeding Finches of all varieties is very rewarding. Find out what they like to eat and the best feeders to use.
  

• Take the Bird Feeder Quiz We can learn so much from taking quizzes that test our knowledge. You may be surprised at how much you know and have fun doing it too. 

• Bird Feeders FAQ Check out what other bird watchers are curious about and discover the answers to questions that are often very common among backyard birders. Throw your helpful ideas in too.   

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