I have a nesting colony of grackles (not starlings, they have those yellow beaks) that come back every year. They do make a mess but will drive away herons, hawk, cats and other pond predators during the daylight hours. The good thing is usually they will disperse the first week of June and you won't find them grouped together. Also they will get to know you and many times will not even sound an alarm (those loud clicks) when you garden, and will not fly off. I think that is kind of neat, especially when someone else comes to the garden and they react very differently. You can net the pond with a fine net to catch the nest waste they toss in the pond. They are trying to get rid of the baby bird smell - hence dropping it underwater. You can use a pool skimmer net to collect the droppings too. They usually are easy to take out of the pond. I try to remember that it is a big world, and that the yard is really not mine- that we must share. I don't know if you are of the same mind set. But perhpas knowing the mess is temporary may relieve you a bit. Lisa

I 2nd the lamium suggestion - I have it growing with my hostas and they co-exist beautifully. Some find it invasive, but I've never had a problem with it. I'll admit that it's a fast spreader, but it's easy to pull up if it goes where I don't want it to. And there are loads of choices when it comes to foliage color.

Actually, a fair number of commercially available pond plants are natives: lizardtail (Saururus cernuus) fragrant water lily (Nymphaea odorata) blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) giant blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) golden club (Orontium aquaticum) arrow arum (Peltandra virginica) arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia, etc) marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) threeway sedge (Dulichium arundinaceum) cottongrass (Eriophorum) common rush (Juncus effusus) cattails (Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia, but note that some other Typha species are not native) thalia (Thalia dealbata) -- not native to Maryland, but native elsewhere in the south dwarf horsetail (Equisetum scirpoides) -- native farther north creeping spearwort (Ranunculus flammula) -- native farther north

black oil sunflower seeds will attract the most birds, but you WILL get squirrels too. You can plant native trees & shrubs instead. Do a search for native shrubs for wildlife.