I also sing the praises of birds:-) We have blueberries and the catbirds and other birds do eat them. However, I have watched the catbirds eat a few berries and then go to the bean patch and eat bugs.

justaguy

My praise for birds is because they fill the air and trees/bushes with fluttering, swooping, colorful, singing, busy life!

FWIW, birds do eat a lot of insects, but I've read they won't eat cucumber beetles because they're so bitter.

The following quote is about the larva of one of the cucumber beetles and I think the beetles are just as repellant to birds:

"The rootworm's unusual appetite for cucurbitacin apparently developed as a canny evolutionary ploy to appropriate the plants' defense. A bird needs to taste only one of these bitter insectsÂand promptly vomit it upÂto learn an indelible lesson. With such an incentive, rootworms are passionate for the bitter chemical. Once entomologists realized this, they began investigating cucurbitacin-rich flavorings for rootworm poisons." The Bitter End

Then there's this:

Cucumber beetles and Cucurbitacin

"A. vittatum, along with other cucurbit-feeding beetles in the genus Diabrotica, are induced to feeding behavior by a class of plant secondary compounds called cucurbitacins, widespread in members of the family Cucurbitaceae. These extremely bitter chemicals are hypothesized to have evolved as a plant feeding defense, but have been co-opted by the beetles into a kairomonal feeding attractant. Beetles are capable of consuming amounts of cucurbitacins that would kill other organisms, and some work has indicated that the beetle may sequester the compounds in their elytra to deter predation." Striped Cucumber Beetle

For cucumber beetle predation, BATS are the thing!

I also like having birds around the garden. Last year I had tall stakes for my tomatoes and every morning I would see birds on top of the stakes. Now, I had to put up with a little bird poop on the leaves, but I didn't really have a bug problem. We are in a small town and there are also power or phone lines that cross overhead near the garden bed and the birds like to hang out on those, also. One of the neighbors has a birdbath near the garden, too. While the flowers I planted near our apartment building were getting devoured by grasshoppers, I found very few hoppers in the garden and those were small. I also found a large toad living under the base of the garden bed(RR ties)and was thrilled about that. It would be nice to have some bat houses up nearby, but I don't think it would be allowed in the city limits.

I too like having birds around, most especially the hummingbirds and goldfinches. I planted alot of flowers specifically to attract them and it has worked.

As for the birds that eat insects, I find robins to be king, and the common swallow to be pretty good too. But I try not to leave food for them. First of all, I have never even seen something like a robin eat seeds. And if I leave seeds out that the other birds like, they just eat the seeds and ignore the insects. So I dont leave an easy meal for them, I just try to make my garden as friendly to them as possible... lots of high safe places to perch on, numerous safe bird baths, privacy from the other homes in the area via hedge rows and plenty of nesting areas. It works out great. Every day I see some birds in my garden or on the lawn looking for some meal

Hmmm... bird baths in the veggie garden. I'll have to try that one. Do you think birds would go after SVB moths?

Trellised vegetables make good bird perches, one more argument in favor of pole-versus-bush choices, when applicable.

Cracked corn as an attractant is risky; if you are growing vegetables, the last thing that you want to do is attract crows. Not the gardener's best friend... no praise for them, thank you.

I have had success attracting goldfinches, which love the seeds of cosmos. Since I plant them in the veggie garden mainly to attract bees, this is an unexpected fringe-benefit. Maybe they don't eat bugs, but I like having their company while I am working.

Next year, I plan to build a house on a pole to attract purple martins. They should reduce the population of flying insects - hopefully, a few deer flies! And while I'm hoping, maybe a few SVB as well.

But before I sing too many praises, there was a time that my tomatoes were being eaten just as they would ripen. Since I have had trouble with voles, I put out mousetraps under the tomatoes in question... and caught birds instead. I guess the key is to attract only the _right_ birds!

Here is a link that might be useful: Songbird diets

I actually see them sitting on the fence waiting for something to pop up and see them dive to get them,....I also have a big red bird that is constantly in and out of one of my beds...there is nothing growing there at the moment for him to be feasting on except pests...I love the birds....

One spring I had a robin more than usually involved in my gardening efforts during nesting season. I sat up stakes at the four corners and ran string around the perimeter, mainly so my kids could see the area to stay out of. When I attached the string to the last stake, I cut it in a hurry, leaving about three feet of it coiled by the stake.

Later when I was inside, I looked out the window and saw a robin doing her utmost to fly away with that piece of string still attached to the stake. She'd grab it in her beak and take off. Wham! She hit the ground when the string was stretched taut. Over and over again that robin tried to fly away with that string. It's a wonder she wasn't knocked silly.

Finally I went back out and cut the piece of string free. Within minutes, Ms. Robin tried once more, and this time she was successful. I watched her fly off above the trees with three feet of string fluttering behind her.

After that I left whatever nesting materials I could think of in my garden. Dryer lint seemed to be the favorite of many birds. It was always gone within minutes.

I too am seeing sparrows digging and wallowing in the dust in my watermelon area. They certainly aren't keeping the cucumber and corn root worm beetles in check very well!!... nor the JBs. I wonder what they are doing.

Justaguy:
You are definitely on the right track with the birdbath and the compost. I have four birdbaths around the garden plus the wading pool and they are busy with birds all day long. It's a great pleasure to watch blackbirds partying in the wading pool.

Foodwise, mulch seems to be the number one attractant for the birds in my garden. Wherever there is mulch, there are birds probing. I have mulch around and between the raised beds, and they are always busy there. And in my front yard, instead of grass I have a thick layer of mulch around the trees. Birds are constantly there as well.

I also have large ornamental beds of native plants that provide seeds, nectar and berries for the birds. I have never put out birdseed or a birdfeeder. All day long, we listen to birdsong. And I have very few insect problems in the veggie beds.
-O

I like the birds too. This is my first year gardening and I haven't had any trouble with bugs. I do have birds frequent my yard and garden though. Robins, sparrows, bluejays, and mockingbirds, and some grackles. I found two nests of baby mockingbirds in my yard a couple months ago.
They don't bother my tomatoes if I pick them before they get too ripe. The birds are fun to watch perched on my fence and trellis. One of the baby mockingbirds used to hang out in my garden frequently. He perched in between the holes of the chain link fence.
The birds devoured the webworms when they fell out of my poplar tree. When I started my garden I hoped to bring nature to my city abode. It worked to my satisfaction.

Occasionally I see bird droppings with obvious bright green japanese beetle parts in them. That's when I like the birds in the garden. Then I see droppings from raspberries and I'm not as happy.

Bryce

Yay birds! We've got feeders and a bird bath in our small back yard, and they get a LOT of use. Last year I watched cardinals clean up Sweet 100 tomatoes that had been knocked off the vines, and use those vines as perches. Thank heaven for them, otherwise I'd be overrun with "volunteers" this year. Of course, watching a male cardinal systematically take all of the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars off my dill (probably off to feed the Mrs. and kids in the nest) didn't make me that happy, but he was so handsome...

after reading this post i went out and moved my two bird baths into the garden. they look great! i always have tons of birds in the garden, they don't even seem to mind when i am in there too, but i never thought of putting the bird baths in there. i have moved them around the yard for years looking for a great functional place where they would look nice and get used but i never found one. thanks so much for the idea, they look GREAT!! i haven't seen any birds in them yet, but i am sure they will, i have two blue jays who often stop for a drink. sarah