Chex TV airdate: April 1st, 2016
Click link to watch this episode online.
Local Naturalist and author Drew Monkman is my guest on this episode.
Drew helps us understand why we’ve had so many Pine Siskins at our feeders this year. He also points out the differences between Pine Siskins and Gold finches. These two are often mistaken for each other.
This year I have seen close to 100 Pine Siskins at my feeders beginning in February and they are still feeding in April.
If you have Nyger is your feeder and the birds ignore it, it very likely means the seed is bad. Nyger can very easily go bad either by drying out or going rancid. The birds are after the oil inside the shell. The nyger lasts about 6 months. When buying your seed look for good colour, no bad odour, no dust or sticks. Also ask what “crop year” the seed is. Old crop seed can be years old and when this is the case with Nyger the birds won’t touch it.
Learn more about quality seed in Episode 3, 13, 56 and 68.