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I was so happy I found your site. I have been feeding the Golden Finches for a bit and continue to fight with the squirrels. They love thistle and I couldn't find a good feeder for my finches until I found you. I bought your Forever Thistle Feeder-1 Qt; very pretty. Unfortunately, all the seeds just fall out at the bottom:-( I love the design and it's a nice metal mesh material but the bottom needs to be rethought.
Forever finch feeders have been around for 20+ years. Tinier than a grain of rice... thistle seed does have a shell. You may be seeing the hulls accumulating on the ground. This is very common with thistle (or nyjer) feeders. Also leads us to believe the birds are using it :)
My Gold Finches and House Finches LOVE this feeder! I was a little skeptical because they liked the thistle "socks" so much, but they love this new feeder better. It protects the seeds a little more than the socks do. The big birds don't like it because they can't get their claws into the mesh the way they can with the socks. I'm going to purchase a few more, this really cut down on feeder competition and the small birds seem happier.