When I ask talk to new backyard birders, almost all of them say they want to attract goldfinches. Picking the correct bird feeder and birdseed can determine whether you’ll be seeing finches or not.

DEAR JOAN: We had sunflower seedlings that were 2 feet high a few weeks ago, but our bird friends are eating the leaves. The birds are small, gray in color with yellow breasts — some kind of finch.

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DEAR JOAN: We have had a sock feeder for finches for a few years now. In the past, it has attracted many birds. We hung a new sock up with new seed and have yet to see one. Is it still early for them ...

During the coming of this new season, we look forward to the arrival of migrant birds that wintered to the south of us. And they do arrive. Some may have already made their appearance. But we have ...

If you hang a bird feeder outside your home, there’s a good chance that your first visitor will be some kind of finch. We have five kinds of finches in Marin: the reddish house finch and purple finch, ...

It can be tough to find a good bird feeder for your yard. Luckily, Walmart has one that looks like a miniature house, and ...

A number of us who feed birds in the winter stop feeding during the summer because of plentiful natural food and to break the connection between bird seed and rodents. If you miss the action provided ...

I think there is no better way to start a column about purple finches than to quote Roger Tory Peterson’s description of this bird, he called them “sparrows dipped in raspberry juice.” I saw my first ...

DEAR JOAN: Early last fall we put out a sock feeder in our backyard to attract finches. Very soon we had four lesser goldfinches on the feeder. They are a delight. We assume they came from nearby, but ...