Nyjer feeders and goldfinches

Nyjer is the seed people buy when they want goldfinches. It is a tiny, black, oil-rich seed, and it will pour straight out of an ordinary seed tube. So it comes with its own kind of feeder. This guide is about that feeder and how people use it. The short comparison with other foods is in bird foods compared.

The sources, opened on 14 November 2026, are the BTO feeding page, the RSPB feeding page, the RSPB’s goldfinch page and the RSPB’s October 2026 explainer. No feeder maker’s page was opened, so no product, size or price is given here.

What nyjer is

The BTO calls it nyger, “sometimes seen spelled nyjer or sold as ‘thistle’ seed”. You will also see niger. They are the same thing on a shop shelf. The BTO says the seeds are oil-rich and ideal for birds with delicate bills, and that because they are so small they have to be supplied in a specially adapted feeder.

“Thistle seed” is a trade name. It does not mean the seed comes from the thistles in your border.

Who eats it

The RSPB says nyjer seeds are “a particular favourite” of greenfinches, goldfinches, siskins and redpolls. Their goldfinch page says goldfinches mainly eat seeds, especially those of thistles, teasels and dandelions, and that they visit garden feeders for sunflower hearts and nyjer seeds.

The BTO adds a useful caution. Goldfinches were the first birds to take to nyger, but there is “some suggestion” that goldfinches now favour sunflower hearts, moving onto nyger only when competition on other feeders is great. The BTO says this “may just be a local effect”. In plain terms: a nyjer feeder is not a guarantee. If your goldfinches are already happy on a sunflower-heart tube, a second feeder of nyjer may sit untouched for a while. If the hearts feeder is crowded, the nyjer may take the overflow.

Tits, robins and blackbirds are not the birds this food is for. If you want to know what most gardens actually see, the common garden birds guide is a better starting point than a speciality seed.

How a nyjer feeder differs

A standard seed tube has ports wide enough for a sunflower heart. Nyjer is far smaller, so a nyjer feeder has much narrower openings: thin slits or tiny holes that a finch can pick seed out of, one at a time, with a fine bill. Some are a tube with small ports and perches; some are a fine mesh sock or cage. The feeder types in general are in bird feeders.

What matters when choosing one, in qualitative terms:

• It must be a hanging feeder. The RSPB’s current advice is not to use flat surfaces such as bird tables or trays, because disease spreads more easily there. A tray under a nyjer tube to catch spills is still a tray.
• It must drain. The RSPB says make sure feeders drain easily and do not allow a build-up of old food. Tiny seed in narrow ports traps water more easily than large seed does.
• It must come apart. Narrow ports are harder to clean. A feeder whose base and lid come off gives you a chance to reach inside.

Small amounts, kept dry

Nyjer is expensive by weight and wasted if it gets wet and clumps. Fill a nyjer feeder with what the birds will clear in a day or two, not to the top, and empty out old seed rather than topping it up on top of what is left.

Store the bag sealed, cool and dry. Small seed absorbs damp and goes mouldy in a warm shed. See storing bird food.

Cleaning a fine-port feeder

Cleaning matters more, not less, for the birds this feeder attracts. The RSPB says trichomonosis has caused serious declines in greenfinches and chaffinches across the UK, and may now be causing a rapid decline in bullfinches. They say the risk of outbreaks is highest in summer and autumn, and that the disease spreads mainly through birds sharing contaminated food.

The routine in cleaning bird feeders applies in full. With a nyjer feeder, the parts to look at are the ports and the base, where wet seed collects. A narrow bottle brush helps. Rinse well and let it dry fully before refilling, so you are not putting fresh seed into a damp tube.

If a finch at the feeder looks unwell, read sick and dead birds before you refill anything.

The seasonal rule

The BTO’s seasonal advice is to feed seeds and peanuts from November to April, pausing from May to October. The BTO page does not single out nyjer, but nyjer is a seed, and this site treats it the same way as every other seed: November to April. The reasoning is in what to feed garden birds.

In the warm months, goldfinches have natural food. The RSPB names teasels and thistles. Leaving teasel heads standing is covered in bird-friendly plants and berries.

If your goldfinches prefer hearts, see peanuts and sunflower hearts.

Will a nyjer feeder bring goldfinches to my garden?

It may, but the BTO says some goldfinches now prefer sunflower hearts and only turn to nyger when other feeders are busy, and that this may be local. Treat it as an extra, not a promise.

Can I put nyjer in my ordinary seed feeder?

Not usefully. The BTO says the seeds are so small they need a specially adapted feeder; in a standard tube they fall straight through the ports.

Should I feed nyjer in summer?

This site follows the BTO’s seasonal rule for seeds, November to April, and nyjer is a seed. The RSPB also says trichomonosis risk is highest in summer and autumn.