Mess Under Nyjer Feeders

Last Updated on July 18, 2021 by Nancie

American Goldfinches, while wonderful birds, can create quite a mess under feeders when they arrive in a large flock. This year’s flock in my yard is huge. I already figured out how to solve the mess they made under the sunflower heart feeders. Now I’m working on the mess under njyer feeders.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Goldfinches Drop A Lot of Seed Under Feeders

American Goldfinches really seem to like my yard. I’ve had large flocks of them for quite a few years. But this year’s flock numbers over seventy birds and they’ve taken over most of the bird feeders. If you only have a few goldfinches, you may not see a lot of seed under their feeders. But with a large flock, you start to realize just how much seed they drop while they eat. The almost whole sunflower hearts they dropped under my caged seed feeders turned into a solid layer of mush under those feeders due to Maryland’s rainy winter. Applying a fresh layer of mulch under those feeders took care of that problem. But what to do about the more regular mess under the nyjer feeders?

Mess Under Nyjer Feeders is a mix of Shell and Whole Seed

Nyjer is a tiny little sliver of a seed. Small birds like finches and sparrows have the right kind of beak to be able to remove the seed’s shell in order to eat the seed. The black shell then drops to the ground under the feeder. But some unshelled seed typically falls as well, so the ground under the feeders tends to build up with a mix of shell and intact seed.

This isn’t all bad because some goldfinches in the flock, as well as quite a few types of sparrows, are perfectly willing to hop down on the ground to seek out the intact seed among the shells. The problem is that if you have several of these feeders close together as I do, and a ton of goldfinches, a thick layer of shell mess can build up under the feeders if you aren’t careful. It’s fairly impossible for my eye to detect how much is just shell and how much is full seed. It is probably mostly shell though. Surely these shells must break down over time, but if they do, it is a very slow process. If you don’t keep up with it, the mix of shell, seed and bird poop under the feeder can get moldy and disgusting. Disease can follow.

So the mess under the feeders needs to be kept cleaned up. I have to admit that I tend to procrastinate longer than I should sometimes in the cold winter months. And I’m tired of having to clean it up to be honest. So I’m looking at getting the birds to do it for me.

Moving Nyjer Feeders to Avoid the Mess Underneath

My nyjer tube feeders are ONLY filled with nyjer seed. Squirrels in my yard don’t seem to eat nyjer, so goldfinches, along with a few House Finches and every few years a few Pine Siskins, are left alone. While all my other types of bird feeders are carefully positioned to keep them out of a squirrel’s jumping range, these nyjer-only feeders don’t need to be baffled. Their placement is much more flexible.

I have four of these nyjer-only tube feeders. Originally they were all hanging from branches of a maple tree just a few feet from the house in the side yard. Being very close to the house, the birds don’t get enough speed to hurt themselves if they get startled by a hawk and fly toward the windows right next to the feeders.

A year or so ago, I moved one of these feeders over to a pole in the back yard, leaving three on the maple tree. Last week, after doing one of my periodic raking/shoveling-outs under the nyjer feeders, I moved two more of them.

I left one feeder hanging on the maple tree branch in the side yard. Another one was hung on a branch in the feeder area close to the house in the back yard. The last one was hung on a branch much farther out in the yard. (That location is more than thirty feet from the house, so the birds shouldn’t be confused by the windows. Plus, the windows on that side of the house nearest to the feeders have zen bird blinds over them.)

Not Allowing the Mess to Build Up Under the Feeders At All

This approach to placing the nyjer feeders does mean that the goldfinches no longer have their own isolated feeding area where the whole flock can gather. But they have been all over the sunflower heart feeders that are all over the yard this winter anyway.

So how does this fix my problem of mess under the nyjer feeders? By spreading out the feeders, the seed and shell shoudn’t accumulate in one concentrated area. Right now (in very early spring), I have a yard full of Dark-Eyed Juncos and White-Throated Sparrows, who seem quite happy to nibble nyjer seed on the ground. Between the sparrows and the finches, the dropped intact seed should be eaten. I just need to move each feeder periodically to keep the shells from building up.

Moving feeders around for this purpose isn’t an original thought of mine. It’s something I’ve seen recommended in the past for feeders in general. I’ve always ignored it because I’m so careful about my feeder placement. But these nyjer-only feeders really are so easy to move and I have a lot of potential tree branches in the yard, so I should be able to keep moving them around. I’ll update this post as I figure out how often I need to move them to avoid future mess building up under the feeders.

Note: Remember the nyjer feeder I moved a year or so ago? That feeder is on a slope. Rain washes any seed shells away, so I’ve never had a problem under that feeder.

Goldfinches and the Moved Feeders

You might wonder how the goldfinches reacted to my moving their feeders. Keep in mind that I’ve got a huge flock settled in the yard for the bulk of every day. When I go out to fill or clean up under feeders, there are usually a whole bunch of birds watching me. They wait for me to get out of their way so they can get back to eating. So when I moved these feeders, they were up in the trees watching me do it. Within five minutes they were on the feeders in their new locations. And not long after that, the juncos were hopping around under the feeders looking for dropped seed.

Mess Under Your Feeders?

How do you handle keeping the area under your feeders clean? What is the surface like under your feeders? Do you move your feeders around or leave them in the same spots? I’d love to hear about what you do. Please be welcome to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Nancie

Learn More About American Goldfinches

Attracting American Goldfinches

Fall American Goldfinches

Goldfinches Dropping Sunflower Seed

An Oddly Colored Goldfinch

American Goldfinches (on All About Birds Website)