It would seem that finches are no more equipped to eat from a hummingbird feeder than I am equipped to be on Dancing With the Stars. Finches can’t hover like hummingbirds can and their stubby beaks are way too short to reach the nectar. Well, to begin with, nectar feeders aren’t built with finches in mind and finches aren’t built with nectar feeders in mind. So, why aren’t they fighting with the hummingbirds at the nectar feeder? With their love of nectar in mind, Tanya, the question shouldn’t be: “Why are the House Finches eating at my hummingbird feeder?” Instead it should be: “Why aren’t they lining up to eat from everybody’s hummer feeder?” Finches like to eat from our feeders and they like nectar. Once the sweet nectar has been squeezed from the blossom, the birds quickly spit it out, much in the same way we spit out sugarless gum after about five chews. It is thought that the birds aren’t eating the blossoms at all but are squeezing out a small amount of nectar. Oddly, after the bird nibbles on a blossom for a bit, it suddenly drops the flower and has no more use for it. House Finches will descend on a flowering cherry tree and chow on the blossoms. They do, however, like to snack on both whole fruit in the fall and fruit blossoms in the spring. House Finches apparently have a sweet tooth, which is ironic in itself since they don’t have teeth. The western finches, on the other hand, may not have been a problem on feeders, but they were (and are) a problem for fruit farmers. For a while, House Finches were so relentless at feeders that some people considered them to be a problem. When it arrived in the East and discovered the abundance of feeders, the bird must have thought it hit the winning lottery number. So simple that only Agnes and I know about it.Īs is the case with most finches, the House Finch is fond of just about any kind of seed it can find. Only, instead of commemorating the event by driving a golden spike into the ground in Promontory Summit, Utah, the House Finch continental crossing was noted by the placement of a green plastic bird feeder in Agnes Hickman’s backyard, in Beaver City, Nebraska. Like the Transcontinental Railroad, the eastern birds slowly expanded west until they joined up with the western House Finches, forming one countrywide population. Not long after the birds became established, they began to expand their range, gradually pushing their population further south and west. House Finches are amazingly adaptable birds and instantly established themselves in their new Northeast home. It was probably California’s way of getting even for all those New Yorkers moving west. They were illegally transported to Long Island back in the 1940s. Ha! I’d like to see pretty boy Richard Gere do that.Īs most of you know by now, House Finches were originally a Western bird. Right now I have to write about nectar-eating House Finches. I mistakenly clicked on Richard Gere’s website. Wow! I sure am one handsome-looking fellow. When did that happen? And check out my picture. (click, click) Hey, what do you know! We do have one. What’s up with these crazy birds? Do they not know what species they are? Do they really like to eat nectar?ĭid you say you read us on our “website”? We have a website? Really? I think I had better look into this. I am wondering if anyone has e-mailed you about House Finches trying to feed from hummingbird feeders. I have enjoyed reading bird questions and answers on your website.
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