This year I’ve spotted the beautiful European goldfinch in my garden. I’ve seen them a lot, they love the sunflower seeds in the bird feeders. They’re really social birds, they live together and therefore also eat together. So if there is one, there are probably more in the direct area.

For me it started with the fact that the feeders we’re emptied so quickly, and of course I blamed wintertime and such, but sometimes it took only a few hours (!). So I quickly realized it were packs of these goldfinches that were the culprits.

I only have hanging feeder tubes and a feeding table. Since birds in the finches family love eating on the ground they throw a lot of seeds on the ground, so I’ve seen birds picking 7-8 seeds and throwing them directly on the ground before eating one.
Meanwhile they do like to fight over who gets to eat from the feeder. So during the morning hours I can hear them clearly tweeting/grumbling at each other. This is a funny sight, the downside is that they tend to keep other birds away as well. So when they for example get spooked by something and fly off, other birds are quickly ceasing their chances and quickly take a seat at the table.
Other birds are allowed when there is not a lot of competition among the finches themselves.