Hi Sam, we have a very small yard, too, but have plenty of birds. You're right about them killing pests, they eat them for free! Some of the plants we see bird activity in are;

annuals (in our zone 5);
-torch tithonia
-petunia
-sage, any sage or salvia (both have perennial varieties too)
-zinnia

perennials include;
-liatris, esp. spicata, but really any liatris is attractive
-aster, we have one I call thistle, it has tiny black thistle/niger type seeds, and the birds love it all winter long, they clean the plant out
-ornamental grass, lots of seeds, bonus, very attractive all winter

Also, if you can find a tiny corner, a little bit of scrubby brush is attractive to birds, for cover and a place to hide and for foraging nest material.

This webpage goes into dif. types of birds & what they prefer, you can tailor your plants to the birds you want to attract.
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/design/2003/bird.html

Bees are also important, to me lots of bees is a good sign that my garden is healthy, often bees, butterflies & hummers enjoy similar plants, tho bees are more interested in pollen of course.

Try to use minimal chemicals, don't want to poison the birds you're striving to attract, & they can be very sensitive to weed killers, etc. I am as close to organic as I can be, I do use fertilizer, but for pests, I really try to go organic.

OK, have to admit, we feed, niger seed all year, niger, suet & safflower seed all winter. Cheating, yes, but we love the birds & it's a guarenteed way to get them to your yard!

I'm sure others will chime in w/more suggestions, good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: list of plants to attract birds

This post was edited by jomuir on Sat, Dec 1, 12 at 12:49