Is this the little blueish-greyish guy in the link below? Mostly the guys you mention are seed eaters, though I think most birds feed insects to their young. I stop feeding in spring since the number that show up is greatly diminished. They'll come back with the cold weather in late autumn and I'll put out the feeder again then. Can't say if your birds will turn into pests or not. The same birds in different locales can be pests in one place and benign in another. Sometimes I lose a few cherry tomatoes to birds, but a minor number. Here is a link that might be useful:

I plant flowers in the vegetable garden mainly to attract pollinators, and as barrier crops for seed saving purposes. I'm with Jean, I have yet to see any conclusive evidence that companion planting repels insect pests. Anecdotal evidence (I used it, and had no .....) means nothing, unless a control (unprotected) planting of the same vegetable, at the same site, had problems. The most common myths seem to be for marigolds & nasturtiums. However, I am not saying that flowers are not useful for pest control. There are several ways they can be helpful. To the extent that companion planting breaks up large mono-cultures, it can be helpful in reducing the spread of insects or diseases. This strategy works best if the adjacent plants are of a different genera, with different insect pests. For example, you would not want tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes to be adjacent to one another, since they are closely related - as is the flower Nocotiana. Flowers & herbs are seldom in the same genera as cultivated vegetables, so they are generally effective as companions... but with a little planning, the same effect can be achieved with edible plants. Flowers & herbs can be used as trap crops, as can other plants. I have observed some insects that are attracted more to the weeds in my garden, than to the vegetables. Mallows will attract white flies... but since okra is also a mallow, that strategy could potentially backfire. I grew an unusual solanaceae, "Litchi Tomato", which acts as a trap crop for Colorado potato beetle. The problem with using trap crops as a pest control strategy is that you are attracting harmful insects... so if planted as a preventative measure, it could actually make things worse. Trap crops are best used outside the garden, to attract the target insect & kill them. Flowers can also be useful for attracting & holding beneficial insect populations. Cleome, for example, attracts wasps... and as scary as that thought might be, wasps control several garden pests. Other flowers feed the adults of insects that are predatory as larvae, such as Syrphids (hover flies). And while this is not a flower, I'll mention that yardlong beans are attractive as feeding sites for ladybugs... so if you want to keep ladybugs from migrating, you might consider growing them.

when I see what you describe on my butterfly plants like passionflower it's baby caterpillar poop (correct name is "frass"). So maybe you have a caterpillar, probably not one you want, if you also see leaves eaten. Look on the underside of the leaves for critters. BT, bacillus thur-something-us, an organic pesticide will kill them.

i see aged flowers rotting ... deadhead them when they are spent ... i see no other damage on the plant ... the lamium.. who cares ... i see one hole ... pinch out that leaf ... thoroughly search the SP .. and see if you can find a bug... if you cant ID what you are fighting.. then dont fight ... if you think.. you will live in some disney movie.. where everything is perfect.. all season long .... you will become very frustrated ... i see nothing here.. which requires anything but you to chill out... and enjoy natures bounty .. with all its imperfections .... thank God you asked.. before you nuked the yard ... ken