A reader wrote in today:
“HELP PLEASE I have this yellow finch throwing himself at my window trying to gain access I think. This has been happening for two days, he regains strength overnite and is back this morning. What can I do to stop him. I do not want him to get hurt. Thanks Tina”
After a few emails back and forth with Tina, and a photo she sent me, the bumping bird is definately a male yellow finch.
“Tina:
Put up a curtain. What a nutty bird! Depending on your location it may be mating season. He sees his reflection and he’s likely trying to start a fight to fend off ‘that other yellow finch’ he sees in the reflection of your glass.
Unless you’ve got pet finches inside…and he’s trying to get at them?
If you still can’t shake him off and help him to move on, you might want to call the local animal control unit (usually run by a municipality). They’ll come and relocate him.”
As it turns out Tina has no birds in the house, and has tried drawing the curtain but the yellow finch (an American Goldfinch) keeps flinging himself at the window. It’s a large picture window with a big pine tree butting right up to it.
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Yes, you’ve got an American Goldfinch there. He’s performing a territorial defense on your window. He thinks your window is another male, and your house has been marked as his territory (in his mind at least) so he’s fighting off the other bird. He won’t stop until early Fall or until he kills himself by bumping into your window.
That is quite a large window (otherwise I’d suggest covering it from the outside until he gets a grip on himself). At some point your window is highly reflective – almost mirror like on his side – likely at a certain point in the day with the sun’s reflections. Have you noticed him doing this at any particular time? Say, for instance that he does this from 3-5 pm you could hang a sheet on the outside of the window for just those few hours every day. As the sun changes position due to the season, this time may change and/or diminish altogether.
I wish I had a quick fix suggestion for you. Some people put stickers on their windows, attach those ugly plastic owls to their windowsills to scare off the wild birds, etc. but these don’t always work. The mirror like reflection and the need to fend for their territory is too great.
Animal control may still come and try to catch him (or give you tips on how to catch him if he knocks himself out – be very careful here) so he can be relocated by the experts. However, chances are pretty good he’ll find his way back, or another will come and do the same thing.
If your property is large, you could maybe distract him and his mate if he has one (they’re monogamous and in the breeding season now), by putting out a wild bird feeder with black sunflower seeds or thistle, far away from the window. I’m thinking that if he has a mate she’s probably nested in that tree right by the window. The eggs incubate for about 10 days, the young in the nest for another 10-17 days, and they may have 2 broods a season.
Hoping some of this information assists you with a solution!
Veronica
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At a later note I received many more emails of this sort. One kind reader told me he picked up a $4 feeder and placed it on the other side of his yard. “This seems to have done the trick,” he said, “the birds are just as pretty to watch over there – without all the tap-tapping at my window!”
If you stop into the discount bird supply store now, you’ll find pretty Finch feeders selling as low as $3.99, with a wide variety to choose from.
Finch Feeders
Finch Magnet Feeders
Thistle Feeders
Hoping this solves your problem too!
Filed in: Bird Specific, Wild Birds
Search by: American Goldfinch, wild birds, wild bird feeder
24 Comments Posted
Tina
June 1st, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Unbeleivable thanks for all that info.
Yesterday as a matter of fact my husband came over to me and told me “my friend” brought another friend with him. So hence the mate you are referring to. I can honestly say two days ago he started this at the kitchen window. I yelled out the window and he left and obvioulsy made his way to the other side of the house, and he has been here ever since.
There is no time of the day yesterday that he did this , all day, he was here. I could hardly wait for nightfall.
I think we shall try covering the window and see if that helps, maybe deflect the reflection he is seeing.
Thanks again, I appreciate all your time and trouble.
Tina
Vanessa
July 7th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Hi. I just came across this site because we have a yellow finch that has been banging against our window for three days now. I am going to try to do something about the reflecton to stop it HOWEVER, this finch is definitely a female as inbetween banging up against the window it was seen under a male. Then right back to the window banging so I guess that females also defend their territory in this way.
Veronica
July 7th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Vanessa, thanks so much for leaving your note. It’s so very important and valuable for us to share our experiences and learn from each other.
Precisely why I set this part of the website up. I used to have a forum here but received no traffic. This new format, as a wordpress blog, really brings people in.
Which we all need, so we can all share.
Again, much appreciated,
Veronica
Erika
July 20th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Oh my goodness, that is so good to know, I just got on the internet because some silly bird has been doing that to all the windows in my upstairs for weeks now!!!! He hasnt been over in a few days, and today is the first time Ive seen him in the afternoon, usually he wakes me up, but hes here right now so I decided to get on and look up who he is and why hes throwing himself at my window!!!! What a silly bird!
jane
August 9th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
can you help me? I am new at the wild bird thing. We have had hummingbirds for years and this year we decided to put up finch feeders. No one comes to eat. Does the feeder need to be in a certain place? We live in North Carolina and have seen finches in the yard. Any suggestions? Thanks Jane
The Bird Girl
August 10th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Hi Jane:
They aren’t in your state at this time of year. They’re north breeding and hatching. They should, however, be back soon!
Keep the feeders out and keep watching!
christine tadeo
April 29th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Hello,
We just purchased a feeder for yellow finches. We have it hanging on a shepard’s hook near a window. Two questions…the feeder is about four feet from the ground. Should it be higher? Also, is it OK to leave near a window…will the birds still feed?
Thanks!
barb
May 31st, 2007 at 4:06 pm
I put up a fiinch feeder about a month ago and no birds. Our ex-neighbor had tons of them last summer. When he moved, he gave us all of his thistle seed. Is the problem that the seed is too old? It was kept very dry. Also, I’ve got the feeder hanging about 10 ft. above the ground. Is this too low? Any advice on where to hang would be appreciated. I’m based on Vancouver Island, B.C.
Merl Elton
June 10th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Dear Barb
Regarding Gold Finches
Finches like fresh thistle. If the thistle is more becomes even slightly stale, wet, moldy, or dry; the finches will not eat it.
We replace our thistle about once a week. We store the remainder indoors in a birdseed can located in a cool dry area of our basment; it lasts for a few months stored this way.
We move the feeder aroud until we find a place the finches prefer. Ten feet above the ground is not too low since it should be high enough to escape the jump of cats and squirrels; and ideally should let the finches see arriving winged predators.
However, one of our feeders is just 3 feet off the ground and the finches still use it. In time the finches will arrive; it took us about a year for our yellow finches to arrive at our feeder.
Bright yellow-colored finch feeders seem to attract finches faster. And, did you know that only male finches are yellow and that they turn brown in winter?
Jerry Peterson
June 18th, 2007 at 11:37 am
At present, we have only one finch feeder hanging about 7 feet from the ground on a long cord. Lots of gold finch every summer and the squirrels can’t get at it. Also have a regular box type feeder hanging from the eave by a picture window where just this summer, the goldfinches also feed. The doves clean up underneath, but mess up the mulch. I’ve been waiting for the chickadees to make an appearance, but so far no show. Sparrows won’t stay away and there are some house finches which is fine. Never had a problem with squirrels at this feeder until this year when one got on the screen, but was shooed before he tried to jump. He came back only once more so far. We’re in Michigan just northeast of Detroit about 25 miles.
Betsy
June 21st, 2007 at 2:49 pm
We’ve always had a large number of gold finches, even during harsh northern Indiana winters. I am careful to keep their several feeders clean, provided a heated water dish in winter, and some shelter from thunderstorms. About 3 weeks ago, I realized they hadn’t been feeding and have watched for them to return to no avail. Is there a disease going through the population? The outside “mama kitty” has been here since January, so I don’t think that’s a factor. Any suggestions? Thanks for any help.
Rita
July 1st, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I have a yellow male (?) finch who’s been banging on my kitchen window for a week now and at night pecks on my upstairs bedroom window and wakes me up. Sometimes he follows me from room to room and pecks at these windows also! What can I do – I don’t want to cover all my windows. I live on an acreage with lots of birds and have never encountered this before. My best friend told me it was a messenger of some kind and that I would be hearing bad news???
Jo
July 11th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
We recently put up a finch feeder with nyjer thistle in the backyard next to a young pin oak. It’s about 7 feet off the ground….but no finches. Is there an ideal placement spot?
Summer Nestlings
July 12th, 2007 at 11:06 am
There’s an ideal time – for your area.
Yellow finches are migratory. They may not even be in your area right now.
Where do you live?
Jo
July 16th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Well…sorry for the non response! I’m in Eastern Iowa.
I moved the feeder about 5 feet into the middle of the yard, away from the tree and raised it a foot so it is about 11 feet in the air and bam…gold finches male and female. Hardly in abundance (the most I’ve seen are two at a time), but they’re unmistakable of course.
Who knew a plastic box, a pole and a handful of thistle seed could be so much fun!
I want to try to attract some other Iowa birds with fruit. Any ideas on this?
Jo
July 16th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Also, this site is wonderful! You do a terrific job.
Gina
August 12th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Hello,
I have found a baby yellow finch lying in the grass all alone and too small to fly. I kept an eye out on it all day and no adults came near it. Feeling sorry for the young thing and fearing the worst with night fall, I fed it some mashed up worms through a straw and moved it out from direct sunlight. Overnight it has perked up and I have continued feeding it worms and oranges from a straw. What should I do for this little cutie? I don’t want to endanger it, if I havn’t already. I know this is a wild bird and that’s where it belongs but I can’t bear to see it starve or worse. Any insight on what I should/shouldn’t be doing?
Thanks!
Debbie D
August 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
I live in Western North Carolina and my Gold Finches are no longer coming to my feeders. I have had very many this Summer and they stopped coming to the feeders the second week of August. Is this normal?
Patty
March 23rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I recently purched a finch feeder and would like to attract finches. What is the best time to put a finch feeder out? I live in West Virginia and its March 23, 2008.
tracy
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:39 am
Soap is the answer! Take any bar of soap and draw yourself a lovely flower or butterfly on the outside of your window over the spot the bird is attacking. This will break up the image and stop the attacks. It also works well for preventing collisions of the accidental kind.
Samantha
May 17th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Good Morning, I just woke up and found two yellow fiches laying in my garden. One was on his back and the other on his side. They are breathing but not moving. What can i do to help them? I have a small fence around my garden but lots of animals out there. We live in Ohio. Please Help!
Betty
May 20th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
My husband recently put up two Finch Feeders and we were having 5 or 6 feeding on each of them. Also, he spilled some seed on the grass under the feeder and, we watched 15 to 20 Yellow Finces gathered. We left Poplar Bluff, MO May 9th, coming back on May 17th (Vacation) and noticed that we no longer have finches coming to eat. Do they move on at certain times of the year? The Feeders were up high, on the edge of our extra garage away from any animals, etc.. We also would see them several at a time sitting on the roof edge – like they were giving others time to eat from the Feeders. I hope they will be back soon, we loved watching them.
Betty
Jannie
May 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I have been feeding the Golden Finches in my backyard for months and have been attracting about 30 to my 3 feeders now all of a sudden they all went away. And I haven’t seen any for a week now I have been feeding them Nyger seed. My feeder has never ran out of food. I live in nebraska is this the time of year they migrate to other areas or is it they are hatching young ones right now. Anyone know a reason for this?
Mary Linda Davis
September 8th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Thistle seed has doubled in price since last week. We love our birds and want to continue to feed them (we use the sacks), but wonder is there anything else they will eat.
We live in Virginia and wonder when the finches will leave our area and when they will hopefully return. They sure give us a lot of pleasure. Thanks a lot !!!