Absolutely they do! I've seen it happen in my garden. It was the Golden Crowned Sparrow that was the culprit. They particularly like the new growth. The first sign on the full grown plants I saw last year was tears in the leafs, but it didn't look like it was from pests. Then I witnessed the birds in action. The plants were well enough established that it had little impact overall. But then in March, when I was starting from seed this years Nasturtium, I found the birds eating off the tender new sprouts, and I knew they would never have a chance to survive, let alone thrive. Solution: I put netting over the sprouts to prevent the birds from getting them, and it worked. After plants had established themselves I removed the netting and I now have thriving plants. It seems that the Golden Crowned sparrows have moved on and everyone is happy. This post was edited by Dawnzig on Sun, Jun 1, 14 at 14:26

I found an article that says, Quail will eat Rose Hips, but, not rose canes or anything like that. Like Buford said, deer. Our rabbits here usually feed on roses when one is sleeping, so, you might not see them. Are the holes in your short fence small enough to where rabbits can not enter? They can squeeze through small holes. Chicken wire or similar fencing should keep them out. Best of luck with your problem!

Deanna, I suspect they will. The finches love echinacea and salvias and I see no reason they won't eat the tithonia. It will probably self-seed for you too. Maybe not; I see you are Zone 5 not 6 like me.

I had the same problem with green bean seeds. I strung up some string and hung those disposable pie plates from the string. Just put a hole in the rim of the pie dish and thread a string thru. Then tie to your upper line. Make sure they are off the ground about 6 inches. The pie tins spin and turn with very little breeze and as soon as your plant have the secondary leaves they should be ok. If in doubt - leave the pie tins up. Save them from year to year also or start seeds indoors and put out with secondary leaves. They just want the seed I think. Any questions, feel free to ask. The pie tins always worked for us and I hope they do for you also.