Goldfinch

We feed them here too, lovely birds, got about 20! Costs me a fortune in niger seeds!!

Lovely photo Teds......They are such pretty birds....We have them come into our garden too..buyt very rarely....

Pretty goldfinch, niger seed will bring even more in to feed Teds, they go mad for it.

We have been really lucky with the birds this year, I think because it's been such a cold winter. We have had lapwings in the field at the back, and buzzard's circling over head.
We spotted a red wing one day, I had never seen one before!. We have had a woodpecker and a nuthatch visit us regally too. To my surprise one day a sparrow hawk sat in the tree looking at my poor finches, luckily he flew off with out taking his lunch. It was a treat to see the hawk so close up, very pretty. It cost's me a fortune in bird food, but I love watching them from the window. :)

Me too Teds. I have five feeders around the garden and I don't know how many birds, but it has to be about 50. Goldfinches and Chaffinches. Nothing else at all, not even a blackbird or a robin just now....Pidgeons and Rooks...that's all! Still, as you say, it's worth it because they cheer my day up no end! I find Niger seed germinates on the floor and you end up with a big mouldy patch. I just use sunflower hearts now. They like it just as much and a lot less mess.

I put all my bird feeders on the branches of the apple tree. The tree is in a flower bed, so I have a lot of seeds starting to germinate. I will have to have a hoe round or I'm going to end up with a lot of sunflowers.
I have been out the front today, deciding what plants to bye. I have ordered some willow work troughs for the veg and flowers. Treated my self to a wisteria (I have always wanted one) to go over the pergola on the car port. It is a dwarf wisteria, recommended by Alan Titchmarsh for growing in a container. I'm looking forward to seeing it in flower, I have been promised by the growers it will bloom in the first year. Fingers crossed!

Well, I hope it does. Mine are now about four years old and no flowers yet. I have one on the wall in the japanese corner and one in a pot that I am growing into a standard. I pruned them last year for the first time, so here's hoping! I have just been on Norfolk Lavender website looking for unusual lavenders to grow. However, I think I shall just get the ones in the GC...they are nice enough. I just realised I didn't have any lavender in my herb pots last year....tut tut! I love growing herbs, and now that I have the greenhouse, I can put them around the outside of it in pots and they look a treat. Can't wait to get going now Teds...first seeds germinated today..whoop!

great picture - love these birds - never visit our garden though :(

Funny thing we never had them last year! so may be you will one day:). They love niger seed and sunflower seed. Good luck

thanks - let's hope :)

Aha, thats why the ground near the feeder is mankey, it's all that niger seed! Well, I've run out of it for now so I will let the little critters do a hoovering job!

I think the benefits outway the mess but that is just me and I have lots of room to hide the niger feeders in so I am not too concerned about what it looks like. I did find that it made a huge mess when I hung it with the other bird feeders so I position it carefully now in the hedge.

Great picture Teds! and Welcome.

Lulu, the mess underneath is the shell of the seed so you wont get the birds to hoover up that lot!

Even the niger seeds Tet? I suppose they have little shells too!!

Thats what Im on about...the "black" seed is actually sunflower hearts with their black shell on..the birds take the seed and (fantastic to watch close up) manage to take the black shell off in their beaks..and thats mostly what ends up on the floor!

At last goldfinches are coming to our waterfall everyday - so happy :):):)