Niger (aka thistle) seed does get funky after a while, the oils within seem
to go rancid (this can probably happen to any bird seed). But it can also
take a while for finches to find it unless they are already coming to say a
nearby sunflower feeder. You’ll get mostly goldfinches at the thistle
feeder in Boise (and they’ll also readily take sun flower seeds). I would
recommend sun flower only in the other feeder over a multi-seed feeder,
throw the mix on the ground if you are ok with that.

Charles.

On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 6:29 AM smeikle@iw.net [ible] < ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Good Morning –
>
>
> Wondering if anyone is a bird seed expert that can help me with a question
> I have regarding Nyjer seed? I have a bag of Nyjer seed that is approx. 1
> year old that I just put out but have not been getting much activity from
> the gold finches. Initially I had it located under an Aspen tree by a
> multi-seed feeder. After not much activity, I relocated it across the yard
> next to a large columnar pine with no increased activity. Is it the seed?
> I have only seen a few gold finches this year compared to years past so
> maybe that’s the issue. Any thoughts?
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Sharon M.
>
> Boise
>
>
—
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
chaetura@gmail.com