Do birds eat cherry tomatoes

[zeuspaul]

Pick them at first blush. Critters associate red with ripe and better tasting.

[NewbieGrower]

Update: So far the mocking bird that chases away all other birds seems to only take one or two cherries a day. With Sweet Million, the mocking bird can have one or two. If it gets greedy, then up goes the bird netting. My tomatoes are in an EarthTainer with 8 foot tall cage. So putting up netting will be easy. Only a few small branches with cherries poke out the cage and the mocking bird doesn't touch those. Maybe the bird can't peek at it without sitting on a branch (not like humming bird that feeds in mid air). So the couple tomatoes that get drilled (literally just a round divot, wide at skin and ends at point in middle), are always in the center of the cage. And those aren't necessarily ripe. Sometimes green ones get drilled. But I am pretty certain the mocking bird is the culprit. After drilling one mini pepper, the mocking bird hasn't touched them again and just goes 1 or 2 tomatoes every day or so.

[NewbieGrower]

The Mockingbird is Mississippi State Bird since 1944. It is illegal to kill, trap, move nests, or even have dead birds in your possession according to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
It is illegal to disturb an active nest, even if it is in an inconvenient location (like this morning dove nest on construction equipment), without a permit from the U.S. FWS and sometimes from the State also. Permits are seldom granted.
Many people do not know that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to disturb the nest any native bird without a permit (see exceptions).

It is also illegal to collect or have in your possession live or dead non-game native birds (adults or young), bird feathers, nests or eggs, to try to incubate wild bird eggs, to keep nests or eggs even for "show and tell" educational purposes, or to have road-killed birds in your possession without a permit. (Note: Injured native birds should be brought immediately to a licensed, trained wildlife rehabilitator who handles songbirds. More info)

It is illegal to remove or move active nests, even if:

they are in an inconvenient location
the babies create piles of poop underneath the nest (like Barn Swallows)
they build an unsightly nest and drop pigeon and rat remains on the sidewalk in front of an upscale Fifth Avenue housing coop in NYC, ala the Pale Male Red-tailed Hawk.)

It is illegal to transport, trap or kill native non-game adult birds like Blue Jays or Mockingbirds without a permit, even if they are harassing birds at nestboxes or feeders.

Despite the title, the Act protects birds that are not considered "migratory" (like Mourning Doves and Chickadees).

Permits are seldom granted to individuals, even for research. A state permit may be required in addition to a federal permit - contact your State game warden/wildlife management agency for more information.