With more and more pine siskins mobbing the small tube feeders I use -- the larger versions will go out on the first day of spring -- I decided to try out a nyger sock feeder. I knew birders had success with the design, but I was not prepared for the wild popularity the sock would find instantly in my backyard. It took only a few minutes before the first siskin chose the sock over the tube feeders, and by the end of the day they were already battling over who could usurp the prime feeding positions on the mesh.It's clearly a preferred type of feeder, and I've had up to eight individual siskins on it at once. The lesser goldfinches will also use it, though they're often driven off by the very territorial siskins. I'm amazed at how effective the sock design is, as the birds can cling to it every which way without needing to crane their necks for each bite. I'm already planning to buy more, and more garden hooks, to provide a larger and more flock-friendly feeding station. If you don't yet have a sock feeder, I highly recommend it!
3 comments:
The sock feeders are great - birds seem to love them but the few I've had have fallen prey to the squirrels :[
I have one of though's to! they are very attractive to the finches
Wisconsin Birder - It always seems whatever is most attractive to birds is also most attractive to squirrels. You could try double baffling it top and bottom; that may help let the birds feed while keeping squirrels away, and the bottom baffle could catch spilled seed as an extra bonus. Cheers!
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