I like this one a lot, too. A beaut! Carol

Absolutely a female HOSP. House Finches have striped breast. They DO occasionally use nestboxes. Other brown birds that use nestboxes include House Wrens (pointy beak) and occasionally Carolina Wrens (pointy beak.) See other brown birds link. Sometimes other brown birds temporarily perch on a nestbox but would not go inside. E.g., chipping sparrow, which has a chestnut cap and distinctive black eye stripe. I have heard VERY sad tales of people killing Black-capped chickaee (black bib) or shooting other song sparrows at feeders. It is, of course, important to be absolutely SURE of identity before taking ANY active control measures. Also important, of course, to check inbox traps hourly. Even tho this is a "live trap," A native bird trapped in a box for longer can die. House wrens will be out and about soon - already in Ohio. Here is a link that might be useful: other brown birds sometimes confused with HOSP

Hi Konrad, I don't know. It's looks a little too bulky and dark colored to be a Clay-colored Sparrow. Usually, the Clay-colored Sparrow looks a little like a Chipping Sparrow. And, I think I saw some streaks near the base of the tail. But, I may be wrong. With only one picture there're always possibilities of mistakes. Wish is a Clay-colored, Luc

Very cute little merganser there! I don't know much about duck migration but I checked Birds of North America Online (Cornell subscription site) and they say "Spring A late migrant and breeder. First migratory movement in Mar, intensifies in Apr; most breeders arrive on breeding grounds mid-to late May." and "At Cape May, NJ, overall numbers begin to decline mid-Apr; few observed after late May (Sibley 1993). In Massachusetts, movements late Mar–May with peak of 15,000 observed in Cape Cod Bay, 31 Mar 1984 (Veit and Petersen 1993). Winter birds depart Boston Harbor, MA, late Mar (Miller 1996). In Vermont, move mid-Mar–mid-May (Laughlin and Kibbe 1985)" It sounds like they all should be gone from CT soon and are unlikely to breed in your area. That said, I saw the first Brown Thrasher of the season today - they do breed here. Here with a Red-winged Blackbird: One of my favorite birds (I have a whole lot of favorite birds). Claire