I did it to keep the suckers away from my veggies.... they aren't going to go away, it's a losing battle, so I figured I might as well give them something else to eat instead of my veggie garden. Could be backwards logic, but nothing has been hit by birds as of now....

Just be sure that if you feed sunflower seeds that they are not falling in the containers or garden dirt. Sunflower seed shells are allelopathic.

Dave

I understand birds cause problems for gardeners. They are mostly beneficial in our experience. We have several feeders and bird baths to attract them. I love watching them and love seeing them patrol the plants in our vegetable gardens, helping keep the insect population under control. We have a couple kinds of birds that will peck ripe tomatoes. I have found if you pull the tomatoes before they get dead ripe, the birds generally leave them alone. The tomatoes will finish ripening off vine within a couple of days.

We tried a bird feeder on our patio once but ended up removing it. It was much messier than we had anticipated. Also attracted squirrels to our patio and those pests dug into our container plants causing more mess and damage. Seed feeding stations are kept in the back yard now.

I have seen birds patrolling my garden (no feeders anywhere around). It was a beautiful sight, one mocking bird in diligent pursuit of a big ole grasshopper. HE GOT IT TOO!

It was fun to watch that bird, dive bombing after it.

On the other hand, I just found 2 tomatoes with holes pecked into them...but I'll give up a few tom's for free bug patrol. seems reasonable.

I used to worry about birds too until I saw the amount of bugs they were eating and then I started to do everything to attract them...Including water. I usually have to forfeit two or three tomatoes but I plant enough that I am happy to do that for their bug patrol service.

I used to have a similar setup when I lived in an apartment with a balcony. I had bird feeders set up with potted plants underneath.

One problem is that if your pots are directly under the feeders, stray seeds will fall into them and germinate, causing a big weed problem. If you situate it so the pots aren't directly under the feeders, the seeds will fall on the ground or concrete, and doves will eat those.

I've never had a problem with birds hurting my plants. A lot of songbirds eat both seeds and insects, some eat only one or the other (you can tell by their beak: wrens are insectivores, cardinals eat seeds, big difference in beak). Attracting birds may cause you to lose some of your plants, but there may be a net gain if they also help themselves to some caterpillars or grasshoppers as a second course.

I do sometimes have a problem with mockingbirds eating tomatoes, since they have a taste for fruit. One solution I found was to take any sub-par tomatoes, ones that had BER or were bruised for instance, and put them out in the open where it was easier for the birds to get. They actually preferred to grab those than to go rooting around in my tomato jungle for them, so there were plenty of tomatoes left for me.

And yes, picking the tomatoes when they're not quite fully ripe helps too. The loss in flavor is minimal if you pick them when they're almost ripe but not quite. Songbirds find their food solely by vision.

Oh, also bird baths are great, and may even be more important to them in the hot summer than a feeder.

I didn't want to put a feeder in the garden area because of the weeds it would create.

I put in a birdbath and my squash bug problem instantly improved.

I second the birdbath...it attracts birds that feast on garden bugs, without leaving all the sprouting seeds all over the place. The only birds I feed anymore are humming birds and oriels (grape jelly and oranges). No seeds to mess up my gardens.

I have many sources of water for the birds, toads, frogs, etc. (3 birdbaths, terra cotta saucers, a small pond). The birds that aid in pest control usually are flycatchers, etc. (not seed eaters)...how I wish they would catch the darn grasshoppers that are eating my peppers down to the stem and making huge holes in the swiss chard.

I have a sunflower feeder up now because it was a Christmas gift from my sister and bnl and I love to watch the birds that come to it. Usually I feed thistle (to draw finches) and sunflower seeds or scratch (for all birds) during the Winter.

I have a hummingbird feeder up now...we are very hot and dry--hummingbirds and bees seem to appreciate the added fluids.

Peggy

Or just let them move slap in!
It has been funny as I have had a friend adopt me. It followed me around all Spring and did everything but ride on my shoulder.

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Everywhere that I went, it was right there.

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Apparently I passed the tests because yesterday I was going to pick the pole beans ...

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And saw this ..

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It doesn't mind me coming by to check up on it either ;)

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So those beans can go to seed and I get to enjoy watching something else grow!

Cozy, Good story. Great photos. Thanks for sharing. I'd give up the beans in a heartbeat. We've had finches set up housekeeping in our hanging ferns but so far nothing but patrols going on in the vegetable garden.

Cardinals are considered seed eaters, but I see them checking our tomato plants every day. I have seen them snatch horn worms off tomato plants and gobble them up. Last year, on occasion I would see evidence of horn worms, but could never find one. Since there was no more damage to the plant when checked later, I'm pretty sure the Cardinals got to them before I could. Good birds to have hanging around your tomato plants.

That's great news that cardinals like hornworms! I thought they were vegetarians.

I have grackles follow me around when I till the garden, and eat the bugs I dig up. Lots of people hate grackles, but they seem pretty interesting to me. I like to watch them poking around for stuff. They seem to be fairly intelligent birds.

Another idea is to put out a wren house. Wrens are mainly insectivores and don't seem to be too picky about housing either. I've heard of them nesting in people's shoes they've left out on the porch, or in pockets of clothes on clotheslines.

But yeah, birdbaths are a must. I don't have one yet because I haven't seen one I liked yet (the ones at Lowes are all flimsy), but my neighbor's ugly trash can lids sitting on the ground full of water seem very popular lately.

Shoot opal52, It is almost embarrassing. Surely I am more of a Grizzly Adams type but here I have birds, rabbits and deer groping about afraid of nothing! :(

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But my bird friend has been a life changing event. I'll forego the Sevin and she'll bring in reinforcements ... should be a killer Fall season! Black bears running rampant and I deal with ... LOL It is as good as it gets in my book!

That standing garbage can of water is a prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes =O

Will a large ceramic saucer of water on the ground serve as a birdbath, or does it have to be off the ground? I set one up as a watering hole for snakes and toads (don't know if they're using it), and wonder if birds would use it as well.

Here's a picture of my birdbath. It took a while to figure out something ultra low-cost (we already had the double plant hook), but presentable.

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I use saucers but I make sure there is a shrub close by so they can escape the feral cats that love my garden. I have 4 varieties of doves that visit the watering holes...the quite large Collared Dove has been begging for more sunflower seeds and his buddy the Finches are sharing LOTS of seeds from the feeder. The Mockingbirds loves our peaches and this year the Bluejays have been helping!

Peggy

Birds love newly sprouted seeds, I have found beans and cukes to be some of thier favorites. That is easily solved by protecting them with a cage of chicken wire while they are small. Other than that I find the birds that swoop in and out of our garden very beneficial and very entertaining. I just wish that they would eat a few more slugs. (yuck)

Good gardening, Mary

I use saucers but I make sure there is a shrub close by so they can escape the feral cats that love my garden. I have 4 varieties of doves that visit the watering holes...the quite large Collared Dove has been begging for more sunflower seeds and his buddy the Finches are sharing LOTS of seeds from the feeder. The Mockingbirds loves our peaches and this year the Bluejays have been helping!

Peggy

I keep a birdbath nearby garden, in shade of tree so they feel safe. I also put out food in the birdfeeders occasionally. It keeps em around, I love to watch them, and if they do get hungry- plenty of bugs around.
It's just a large potter turned upside down with the bottom pan on top, with rocks and water. Changing water every two days keeps mosquitos from laying eggs in it.

My bird feeder attracted a few interesting birds for much of the first year but then a flock of small brown sparrows(?) converged on the thing each and every day and scratched everything out onto the ground and it got boring.

My spouse is now growing a lovely double flowered short marigold among the volunteer sunflowers that came up under the bird feeder. The allelopathic properties of sunflower seed did not stop these marigolds nor did it stop a noxious weed but it may have suppressed some grass a bit.

I don't have a feeder, but my garden is a mess. If you are growing zucchini, or buttercup squash, try to avoid attracting House Sparrows to your garden. The sparrows have developed a taste for the zucchini leaves, and the plants are in very bad shape. The squash have also been attacked, but not quite as bad as the zucchini. I wonder if there's anything these pests won't eat?

I feed em and bathe em.
Took a while to find the right place for the feeder. I hang mine off a tall skinny metal pole and there is a horizontal 5 foot piece of skinny bamboo that is stuck on there for a landing perch. You want a place where they can sneak up on the feeder through branches and cover and where such branches and cover are so thick down low that it makes it nearly impossible for a cat to get at them. And you want a place where any fallen seed cannot germinate. Seeds fall onto shaded ground with lots of overhead competition.
A bath you can put anywhere. My favorite is just a 12 inch plant saucer that sits on a bench and is visible from the TV room. You can watch them fly down and jump in and out, especially when it gets hot outside. Pool party!

cozy, in the pictures, that looks like a catbird. I bet he/she followed you everywhere. They're especially aggressive and defensive about their territory and nests. Glad the bird was more low-key. I've had them dive bomb me and my dog out in the yard.

Birds, probably black birds I'm guessing, are stripping the leaves off basil plants, the tops off just sprouted carrot plants, the tops off of tomato plants, and some potato plants and spinach. My garden is grown in containers on the rooftop of a 7 story building in the old warehouse district in Kansas City, Missouri. The only animals around are birds, pigeons, blackbirds, sparrows and mocking birds. So I'm guessing the blackbirds and maybe also the sparrows are the culprits.

Sounds like you live in the old Western Auto building. Can't help ID the culprit, but are you sure there are no mice running around