Feeders help please.

I have regular plastic hanging feeders which are permanently full of sunflower hearts, but the hearts keep clumping up slightly, so they get stuck. The seeds are dry when they go in, but damp/dry weather doesn't seem to make a difference. I've used them for a few years now, and it never used to happen. (Feeders are cleaned regularly).
If anyone else has had the same issue, did you fix it, or do you still go out and tap the feeders?

 

I think it's been so wet in general this winter which hasn't helped, normally a dry week would dry the whole feeder out.

I just keep going out tapping them and when I walk by, it's become a habit.

Squirrels keep lifting the lids off of mine which makes the matter worse.

 

I think it's something to do with the shape of sunflower hearts. I've found that they don't flow in the feeder as well as other types of seeds l've used.

The only thing I can suggest is not filling the feeders right to the top, but if you're not able to refill them several times a day then that might be a problem.
I take it that you're using one of those smooth sided ones with a dish at the base ?

 

I just tap the feeders when they do that, although they need refilled so frequently that the bird activity seems to shift the s'flower hearts quite readily. They're often damp here though, and the yshoft more easily when the air is drier. The birds seem to manage anyway!

Mine are the ordinary type of feeder with the plastic 'tube' - no tray at the bottom.

 

Thanks all!
@AnniD that's interesting about seed shape! I buy 20kg bags from the same supplier, so I wouldn't have noticed that. Maybe I'll get a small bag of some different ones and check that.
It doesn't seem to matter how full they are - past a certain point.
I have the feeders with the ports in, I fill them once a day.

 

@fairygirl mine are mostly eaten by goldfinches, I swear they've got teeth the amount they can grind the seeds up!
The seeds get stuck and so there's none within reach. Must be a bit frustrating for the littl'uns.
I'm glad I'm amongst fellow tappers though, lol!

 

Sunflower seed is slightly oily which doesn't help. I changed to a fine mesh feeder for a while but the Goldfinches are wasteful and tossed a lot out. I changed back to a plastic one.

 

Are these sunflower seeds in the black husks or sunflower hearts without the husks?

i find the hearts do clump together and moulder quickly in wet weather.
I think that next winter I’ll try going back to the unshelled sunflower seeds and see if that improves things.

 

Sunflower hearts, the birds here were creating such a mess with husked seeds. I don't have a problem with mould, the feeders are emptied very quickly.

 

That was the case here until two winters ago but we’ve not had so many goldfinches visiting of late …

 

They are really wasteful aren't they? The finches get though half of each feeder a day - I put a bird bath underneath to catch some of the waste, and there's about ⅛ of a feeder's worth gets in there.

 

We get goldfinches, but all the other small birds eat the sunflower hearts too - dunnocks, robins, blue, great and coal tits, and chaffinches when they get brave enough to go in the cages, and the nuthatch who has been present most of this winter. Because my feeders are in squirrel proof cages, a lot of spilled seed ends up on the floor of the cages, so the dropped bits can also get eaten. The resident mice get in there at night as well for their dinner. I just change the bases every so often - it's just like an indoor budgie cage.
The sparrows are even messier than the goldfinches though - but I love seeing them, and we're fortunate to have good populations. I know many areas are seeing a big decline which is very sad.

I hadn't thought of the oiliness of the s'flower hearts @Sheal , but, like you, mine get emptied quite rapidly, so it's less of a problem.
I also mix a bit of seed into one feeder as the sparrows like a bit of seed too.

 

Do you let the feeder become almost empty before refilling?
I usually refill when they are only half empty and I'm wondering if that's what causes the seed to get stuck.

 

It's varied for me with refilling. Some will be empty and some will still have a bit of feed in them. I haven't noticed any great difference in what happens with the seed, but I suppose I haven't thought about it before.

 

We wait until the feeder is completely empty and all the spillage on the floor has been eaten. It’s usually empty same day (if filled in the morning) so not long enough for anything to get damp and clogged up. If we are too slow refilling the Nuthatch will sit on the feeder and do a steady tap tap tap until we respond.

We use a no mess seed with no problems. The only time I have had a problem was in an old garden and we first started feeding the birds. The seed take up was slow to start with and so sitting in the feeder long enough to get damp.