Best Finch Bird Feeders

View our listing of the 5 best Finch bird feeders, ordered by the popularity, the top one being the most popular. Finches are tiny birds with strong migratory traits. In the United States, the nesting finch can remain until the early fall, fledging out another brood of babies. These colorful and cheery birds are granivorous, meaning that they generally get the calories they need from grain and seeds.

Top 5 Best Finch Bird Feeders

Buying A Finch Bird Feeder: Things To Consider

These birds like to eat thistle seeds. They also seek shelter in low-growing plants. If you have the chance to let some thistles grow wild in any part of your yard, you may be able to enjoy a nesting of the friendly finch in the area.

Nyjer seeds are also very popular with these charming guests. Nyjer, or African daisy, are easy to grow and will make the local finch population take notice of your yard. You can either let the seeds grow wild so the birds can eat them directly, or you can harvest and dry them. Be aware that if you let these plants go to seed, they can take over. These seeds are hardened to survive in tough conditions and don’t need a lot of water once established.

Invest in Mesh Feeders

Because Nyjer seeds are so tiny, you can find feeders that specifically will cater to the tiny finch. These birds are quite lightweight, so a fine mesh feeder will be an ideal perch and a way to protect the food from bully birds. You can celebrate watching the chickadees and a finch family dining from the mesh feeder and put up a platform feeder loaded with peanuts for your local blue jays. If possible, keep these two feeders out of sight of one another.

Watch the Drainage

Even the best finch bird feeders can get soaked during heavy rainfall, and if they drain poorly, the seeds inside them can get moldy or spoil in other ways. If your mesh feeder has a drain at the bottom, carefully review the top and close any baffles you find.

The goal is to keep the bird seed dry. If you can hang it under a pergola or from a tall tree so the leaves will reduce the risk of the seeds getting wet, do so. Just avoid oaks; if you’ve put out peanuts and suet, your local blue jays won’t take kindly to a mesh feeder they can’t use.

Don’t Forget Water

If you’re going to offer water to visiting birds in your yard, particularly birds that migrate, make sure you dump and rinse the basin every day. Dirty water can carry diseases that birds can then take to their next location. Skip the heavy, ornate concrete bird feeder and treat your guests to a clean, manageable basin. In addition, consider adding rocks or marbles to the bowl, so the birds can see that it is shallow. They lack depth perception, so a reflective pool of water can appear deeper than it is.

Enjoy the Rainbow in Safety

These charming birds come in a wide variety of colors, from gold to purple and many shades in between. It’s important to note that a nesting finch family in a tall patch of weeds in your yard may be at risk from hawks or other predators. While we all want to celebrate and support the circle of life, your bird feeding area doesn’t need to be a smorgasbord for predatory birds. To avoid this, monitor the tall trees in your hard and remove dead branches, particularly those over the weed patch you’ve let go for the finch families.

If you’re inviting songbirds to your yard with some of the best Finch bird feeders, the birds of prey will come no matter how careful you are. If possible, add stickers to the exterior of your windows to break up the expanse; panicked songbirds can make poor choices when trying to get away from a hungry hawk and may stun themselves against the glass.

Don’t Be Too Tidy

A perfectly manicured yard will not be a happy place for the finch. As noted above, they like to feed on thistle seeds. If you have a brush pile, the tiny finch and other small birds will use it for a spot to shelter from predators and to get out of the rain. Let dead plants dry out over the winter so your seed-loving guests can eat heartily.

A healthy finch female can have multiple broods over the summer. Plant some sunflowers, some nyjer, and let the wild thistles grow in this patch. Provide access to clean water and enjoy the show of the varied and remarkable finch.

How To Attract Finches To Your Backyard

Finches enjoy Nyjer seed, sunflower chips, millet, and thistle seed. These seeds are easily digestible and appropriate in size for these little birds.

You may want to look for individual bags of these four types of seed and mix them together for your feeder. Or you can purchase a prepackaged bag that has all of these types of seed along with some filler. The bag with filler would likely be less expensive than the individual bags.

In the end, the birds are probably going to pick out the types of seed they like and drop the other types on the ground.

The Best Types of Bird Feeders for These Birds

A feeder sock is one of the best Finch bird feeders for these small birds. They like to cling to the fabric of the sock and peck inside the tiny holes to get seed. A feeder sock allows several birds to eat seed at the same time. Plus, the sock bobs around with the motion of the birds which is soothing to these feathered creatures.

Another excellent choice is a tube feeder. This is a slim tube made of plastic with several places where a bird can obtain seed. This feeder can hold a lot of food and the birds are able to sit on tiny perches attached to the tube while they get seed. You may get six or seven of these birds eating from the plastic tube at the same time!

These two feeder designs can be hung up practically anywhere. Plus, they’re small, so they don’t take up much space on a porch, deck or patio.

What Type of Habitat is Most Suitable?

Along with hanging up your bird feeder, it’s a good idea to have certain types of flowers in the area that will attract these little birds. Marigolds, black-eyed Susans, milkweed, zinnias, cattails, poppies, and sunflowers are all flowers that finches love. As a bonus, these cheerful flowers beautify a yard and are attractive to other significant pollinators like butterflies, bees, and maybe even bats.

A porch railing, fence or trellis is an excellent feature to include in the habitat you set up for visiting birds. These features give them a place to perch while they wait to visit your bird feeder. Furthermore, birds can sit on a perch while looking around to make sure the area is safe.

Get some yellow ribbon and tie a length of it on a tree or railing near your bird
feeders. This brightly colored ribbon is attractive to these little guys. When they see bright color, they know there’s something worth checking out in your yard.

Be sure your bird habitat has a clear way for your feathered friends to escape if they’re frightened by something. Most birds visit feeders with a clear path leading in and out of the area.

Reasons to Set Up a Bird Bath

A bird bath is something that can help attract a finch or two or more along with other types of birds to your yard. While stopping by for a cool drink from your bird bath, they can enjoy some seed from your bird feeders. The longer they stay, the more you get to observe their interesting behavior.

Consider getting a bird bath with a solar fountain in its design to create some gentle movement of the water. This keeps the water from becoming stagnant and can draw the attention of birds in the area.

If you prefer to have a bird bath with still water, think about putting a few rocks in it so these little birds have a few places to perch as they take a drink.

Keep the Feeder Filled with Fresh Seed

Birds can tell quickly if the seed in a feeder is stale or molding. If you leave stale seed in your feeder, they’re likely to stop visiting your yard. So, be sure to change the seed each week and take care to hang it in a place where it won’t get soaked after a rainstorm.

Things to Avoid When Setting Up a Finch-Friendly Feeding Area

When it comes to setting up your bird feeders, avoid putting them in a place with a lot of foot traffic. Hanging up a feeder next to a patio door that family members open and shut throughout the day is not a good idea. The movement of the door and the presence of people can discourage these little birds from visiting your feeder.

Secondly, avoid putting a bird feeder in an area where dogs or cats are present. If your dog or cat spends a lot of time on your patio, consider putting your finch feeder in another place. Your pet is likely to scare birds away.

In addition, avoid hanging your bird feeder in an area where there’s a lot of wind. Feeders for these little birds are lightweight and may be blown down if the area is not protected from strong winds. You don’t want to end up with a broken bird feeder!

Lastly, when you take a little care in choosing a bird feeder and the seed you put into it, you’re sending an open invitation to finches to pay a visit to your backyard.

FAQs About Finches

Finches are a huge family of birds. Some have spectacular plumage like the American Goldfinch, whose male has a butter yellow body, black wings and tail and a black cap on its head. But even the more drab members of the family make up for their lack of looks with their cheery, warbling songs. These are birds who are welcomed in any backyard. Here are some questions whose answers can keep these birds happy:

What Kind Of Seeds Do Finches Prefer?

The bill of the finch is robust and conical, and that means they were meant to crack even the toughest seeds. Like most birds who eat seeds, the finch adores black oil sunflower seeds. Indeed, if it’s offered another type of seed, it’ll push it out of the way to get to the sunflower seed. But if sunflower seeds aren’t available, the finch will eat canary, safflower and thistle seed, white proso millet or niger seeds. It has also been known to visit hummingbird feeders and will eat suet, the hard fat from cow kidneys.

One tip is to always make sure that the seeds are fresh. When they’re fresh they’ll be black and oily. When they turn brown, the birds know that they’re no longer fresh and their oil has dried up, and they’ll avoid them.

According to experts, the best type of finch feeder is a sock. This feeder is made out of netting, usually of nylon and in fact looks like a long sock. The finch, which is a little bird, can hang on to the netting while it feeds. This type of feeder can also accommodate many birds at once. Place the feeder between 10 and 12 feet from shrubbery so the finch can make a quick escape if it senses danger.

Do I Need To Clean My Finch Bird Feeder And How Do I Do It?

Of course, a finch bird feeder should be cleaned regularly. It just needs a cleaning brush that could be used to scrub regular dishes and some warm water. If mold has developed, wash the feeder with a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts tepid water. Rinse it with fresh water, allow it to dry thoroughly, refill it with seeds, and hang it up.

If homeowners want to keep the wooden frame of the feeder looking good, they should apply a dab of linseed oil every two or three years.

Should I Stop Feeding Finches During The Summer Or Winter?

Some of these birds migrate while others stay in an area where they can find food and shelter all year. The problem is that it may be hard to find seed between late fall and earliest spring, so the homeowner will need to stock up before the supply of seeds dwindles.

How Can I Keep Squirrels Off My Finch Bird Feeders?

One way to stop squirrels from stealing from a finch bird feeder is to use sock, mesh or tube feeders. These have openings or feeding ports that are just the right size for a finch and frustrate a hungry squirrel and even a marauding bird like a blue jay.

Another way to keep squirrels away from the bird feeder is to clean up the debris around it. Inevitably, the finch is going to spill a lot of sunflower seed shells on the ground, which tips off the squirrel that there may be food up above. One trick is to cover the ground beneath the feeder with butcher paper then gather it up, and throw it out at the end of the day.

Giving squirrels their own snacks is another way to keep them away from the finch feeder. Some people have devised absolutely ingenious ways to keep squirrels busy with obstacle courses that reward them in the end with their own cache of nuts. Other people just buy cracked corn from their local feed shop and put it in a place where the squirrels will notice it before they notice the bird feeder.

Should I Offer Finches Water Via A Birdbath?

A birdbath is a must for a finch, especially a bath that doesn’t freeze in the winter and features moving water, such as a bubbler or a mister. It’s a good investment for a homeowner to buy a heated birdbath if they live in an area that gets really cold in the winter. A birdbath is excellent not only for the finch that stays in the area year-round but for those who migrate and simply need a bath and a drink after a long trip. If there’s standing water in the birdbath, make sure to change the water frequently.

Related Articles:

• Bird feeders for Blue Jays
• Songbirds
• Wild bird feeders

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