Always hung my feeder from the shepherd's hook, but the finches never came down

I had this cheap little tube feeder dangling from a tall metal hook for like 6 months. Cardinals and chickadees would hop around the ground underneath but never actually eat from it. Then last Sunday I noticed a goldfinch was eating from a fallen seed right below a bush. I moved my feeder down low and hung it from a low branch instead. Next day I had 4 finches on it at once. Why did I think birds only eat way up high like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_rose24d ago

Wait hold on, you had it up high for 6 months and nobody touched it? That's wild. I've always just chucked my feeders on a hook by the garage and never thought twice about height. Now I'm wondering if I've been starving my finches this whole time...

patricia90523d ago

Yeah moving it down low is exactly what I did with mine. I had this big tube feeder on a tall pole for months and the finches just ignored it. Then I saw them picking at the ground under my butterfly bush so I hung the feeder from a branch about 4 feet high. Now it's their favorite spot. I think they like feeling like they can escape into the bush if a hawk shows up, you know? Up high on that hook there's nowhere to hide. So try a lower spot near some cover and see what happens.