What kind of birds are these exactly? Very few birds will actually eat any unripened plant parts... how many birds do you know of that browse on leaves and branches for example? I think it is more likely that what you are seeing is the first migratory warblers and other species gleaning tiny insects from your trees. If you observe very closely, I am quite sure that you will find the birds to be eating something other than the tiny fruits on your trees. Then it's just about crossing the fingers for two more mild months to come before any danger of frost is past! Good luck!

It certainly does look to be Pilea or Clearweed. The odd thing is that I live in a dense downtown neighbourhood with tiny townhouse back yards and we're the only one with it as far as I can tell. And I've never seen it before. Suddenly, it is the only thing thriving in our garden. That was why I suspected birdseed...but it seems an unlikely ingredient. Thanks, all.

Jane, if you only have one feeder out, you might try a good mixture with black oil sunflower seeds stirred into it. Don't get the cheapie kind with those little reddish-brown "BB's" in it. I have never seen ANYTHING actually eat those. I get mine at PetSmart, and I really love the Stokes mixture that has no hulls in it. I feed it, black oiler sunflowers and safflower seed. Safflower seed goes into a feeder that doesn't have squirrel protection, because they don't really like it, but cardinals and titmice do. HOWEVER, no matter what you are feeding, there will be times when birds are not around for various reasons. I have hardly any right now, mostly due to a pair of hawks hanging about our neighborhood. And even without the hawks, birds often disappear for a few weeks now and then. One more thing...don't forget that WATER is probably even more important than seed in luring birds to your yard. You'll notice that most of Maureen's pictures feature her great birdbath. Be sure to provide several "baths" around the yard. They can be anything from decorative features to trashcan lids on the ground with 2" of water in them. I often turn clay pots upside down and put a clay saucer on top for water. Keep the water CLEAN and shallow, maybe even adding a rock in the center for birds to stand on. Good luck! Marcia

As someone said much earlier in this post, insect-eating birds don't go for birdseed, except for the chickadees. For insect-eating birds, you want a birdbath, and suet. Many more birds will use the birdbath than either suet or birdseed. You will want a shallow birdbath with a rough inner surface, your classic concrete birdbath. Birds won't go in water that's more than a couple inches deep, and they want a rough surface so they don't slip. These are not the easiest to maintain - I've seen birdbaths on the market that are deep and smooth and people think they're better because they won't have to fill them so often, and they'll be easier to clean, but the birds won't touch them. I get birds at my birdbath year round, even when it's been raining for weeks. Robins, jays, towhees, finches, sparrows, warblers, chickadees, bushtits, juncos, you name it. Place it a few feet from shrubbery or a tree, so they can see any cats coming and dive for cover. I love watching them, especially in late summer when the new fledgling birds are learning how to use the birdbath. For suet feeding I have what's called a 'crow cage' from Wild Birds Unlimited. It only allows smaller birds to get to the suet. Means the towhees and woodpeckers can't get it either, but it's necessary to keep the crows and starlings off. I have the suet cage itself suspended about an inch from the bottom of the cage so the flickers can hang from the bottom and reach the suet. The starlings can just barely do that too, but it's hard enough for them that they rarely do so. Ask to see their suet cage setups that keep the starlings off, and you'll see what I mean. I also take down the suet when the starlings are nesting, usually April, and don't put it back up again until they're done in summer. To minimize seed waste I buy straight black oil sunflower seed. It's more expensive than the mixes, but the birds toss out much of what's in the mixes.