We have a couple of hanging bird feeders. We enjoy watching the various birds come and help themselves. We have thistle in one feeder, and safflower seeds in the other one. Recently some clumsy oaf (ok, it was me) dropped a lot of thistle into the safflower seeds. I put this mixture into the bird feeder, and the birds stay away. Are our feathered friends that fussy? Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Many of the commercial bird seeds are mixed, and we use them with success. However, I don’t recall thistle being mixed with other seeds. I assume this is only because it generally uses a very different feeder with tiny openings. So I’m not sure why it would keep other birds away. We’ve also in a lull period recently, though they’ve started up again.
Safflower seeds and thistle seeds attract a somewhat different range of birds, with thistle being especially preferred by birds with smaller pointed bills like goldfinches and siskins. However, there is no reason I know of that would prevent the birds that prefer each type from visiting a feeder with mixed seeds; both types should visit.
Safflower seeds are used in particular because they have a bitter taste that repels unwanted birds like grackles and blackbirds, while still being accepted by other birds. It’s advised not to mix them with other seeds, since this will defeat the purpose of repelling grackles etc. However, because of their small size I wouldn’t expect thistle seeds to be particularly attractive to them.
Maybe a hawk has taken up a nearby perch and that’s why the birds are coincidentally staying away.
I put out a mix on my rear deck railing (no feeder) that I got from Costco. Then on one side I put out half walnuts and on the other side I put out full almonds (again from Costco).
I got cardinals, a woodpecker, finches, doves and other smallest birds feeding off the mix. And then I have squirrels munching on the walnuts and blue jays feasting on the almonds. And they seem to know the pecking order and get along. No one messes with the woodpecker, he eats from each pile.
Are you near a large river or other body of water? They may be there, instead of hanging out at your place. That’s happening with me right now - plenty of birdseed, and no birds.
The OP is unclear on whether both feeders now have the mixture, or that there is a mixture in one, and pure seeds of one kind in the other.
If it’s the first case, and birds have gone away, it may be some cause unrelated to the mixture. If it’s the latter case, are birds visiting the feeder with unmixed seeds?
There are two feeders: one has the thistle/safflower mixture, and one just has thistle. They are about 10 feet apart. I suspect the “hawk in the area” theory is correct.
So the feeder with the thistle isn’t being visited now, even though it was before?
Correct
The other varmints (chipmunks and squirrels) aren’t around either, lending credence to the hawk theory.
It could be some other cause for the customer decline. Sometimes weather, like a heavy rain, will cause the feeders to get clogged up or even moldy. Birds won’t eat what they can’t get to. You might have to take the feeders apart for a thorough cleaning. It’s an ugly job, but as the restaurateur, you have to do it.