Many say and think, people who do not eat very often or much food at a meal, “you eat like a bird”. In reality, birds eat plenty of food per day. I know this to be true. I observed lesser goldfinch and house finch at my cylindrical bird feeder containing nyjer seed eating plenty of seed!

Smaller birds eat more seed due to their higher metabolism. That can be up to 35% of their weight in food. Amazingly hummingbirds eat 100% of their body weight! A medium-sized bird may eat 12% of their weight per day. For example, a human weighing 150 pounds then would be eating 18 pounds of food … not happening as we only eat 3 – 5 pounds or no more than 3% of our body weight per day! Birds need the calories! They eat constantly to have calories to fly, mate, and stay alive each day.

I feed my birds on a regular basis. Nyjer seed in a cylindrically-shaped bird feeder and another seed cylinder feeder with seeds attracting woodpeckers. I took photos of how quickly the house finch and lesser gold finch were eating the nyjer seed. See photos below:

I try to provide feed for the birds throughout the year; however, since I travel there are periods the birds need to visit other feeders in the area. I know they are communicating where different feeders are in the area because they will fly off and return here a short while later. I am glad they have so many options otherwise I would be more concerned with my feeders not providing food year-round. I want happy birds, not stressed birds.