Thursday 27 August 2009

Do Goldfinches like Oranges?

To be honest I don't know as I have not put any out for them to try. What I do know is that until very recently I had never seen the local Goldfinches drink even though the bird bath is only a few wing flaps away from the feeders. What changed? A short while ago I bought a bottle of CitroSan.

Citro San

This is a natural product extracted from oranges. According to the blurb on the back of the bottle - "It is a very good sanitizer against a wide range of pathogens and a stimulant for maintaining natural immunity." A small amount is added to drinking or bathing water.

The day after I added some to the water in the bird bath the Goldfinches started drinking from it.

Goldfinch at the Bird Bath

Coincidence? Who knows?

This is not meant as an endorsement for the product just an observation of what happened in my back garden. Having read of problems with finch diseases on other blogs I wanted something natural, without harsh chemicals, that I could add to the water and spotted this and decided to try it out.

Up until this morning I have only seen two Goldfinches visit at any one time. Today there were six vying for a space on the small Niger seed feeder. Looks as though I will have to buy a larger feeder!

No part of this post may be used by the manufacturer or any distributors or sellers of CitroSan for any advertising or endorsement purposes. It is not meant as a scientific test!

9 comments:

  1. Hi John

    Thanks for the tip, it's worth a go methinks!

    Regards Terry

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  2. Interesting. Always worth knowing about anything natural and chemical-free, especially as far as the wildlife is concerned.

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  3. Hi Terry. I don't know how available it is in local stores. I got mine mail order from CJ Wild Bird Foods which is where I get most of my seed from these days.

    No guarantees, no monies refunded :)

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  4. Yes Pam, I agree wholeheartedly. There are far too many strong man made chemicals sloshing about the country these days.It can take decades before we find out what harm they have done and by then it is too late.

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  5. I need to hunt in my cupboard John, you have reminded me that I bought some of that a few months ago and I had forgotten all about it. It could well be that they detect an odour which is attractive to them or perhaps they detect the water is purer. I am a big believer in natural ingredients and always check what is in the bird food, if there is any artificial colour etc. I don't buy.

    Very pretty photos of the Goldfinches!

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  6. Hi Jan. Seems as though I will have to ask my friend if he has any 'Round Tuits' left :-D

    I don't know Jan. I read that birds don't have a strong sense of smell but it was so obvious when they started drinking the water so soon after 'dosing' it. For months they had ignored the bird bath completely.

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  7. Hi again John, my list of 'Round Tuits' is as long as my arm and then some :)

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  8. That's interesting John, I'll look out for that.
    I've only seen them visit the shallows of my pond once, and never notice them drinking from my bird bath, or the two other water bowls in the garden.

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  9. Hi Keith. I had often wondered where the Goldfinches drank. All the other birds normally have at least a quick sip from something in the garden so it was nice to see when the goldies started using the bird bath.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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