I didn't mow at all. The area around my feeders is plantless as a result of the "traffic".
Birds and other critters are good, IMO. In fact I put bird seed mix in and around my feeder. 1.) I like to watch the critters & birds. 2.) IMO having lots of critters around builds the deer confidence level. One of my feeders is about 20 yards from a pond. I had 20 + wood ducks waddle up from the pond to get to the corn etc. they were making lots of "content" racket when I shot my buck last year