Food Fads

This spring I have watched with interest -- and some perplexity -- as the seed eating birds defy my expectations. Case in point: House Finches. My resident "tribe" willingly ate from both sunflower and safflower-filled tube feeders over the winter and spring. Come May, I separated the tubes (for other reasons) and the finches have shown a clear preference for the safflower-filled tube, leaving the sunflower seed untouched for weeks. What is more interesting is that the safflower tube was the one that moved, so it was not the case that the birds stayed with a familiar location relative to the property. Other species have adopted new fads as well. My cardinals hardly touch safflower seed this month, and what goldfinches I see are ignoring nyger and are instead gorging on... safflower, which I had not seen them eat for quite some time. I may be thoroughly confused, but they all seem happy enough. I'll just keep watching to see what food fads arise next.