Member Photo: Goldfinch enjoying native plant seeds

 I attended the Feeder Watch webinar this week.  There were over 2,500 attendees from US and Canada.  They spoke about the different types of bird food and feeders and the species of birds that will use each.  There is a nice summary of the feeders here: Types of bird feeders

They also mentioned that birds will still eat native seeds and berries, even if there is a feeder present.  I noticed this myself.  These goldfinch are digging the seeds out of the native biennial primrose (Oenothera biennis), not 2 feet from the feeder!  I've also seen them snacking on the goldenrod seeds. 

Photo by Kathy Fell: Goldfinch eating Biennial Primrose seeds

Photo by Kathy Fell: Oenothera Biennis in bloom