I see White-throats every winter here in SE Ma, although they usually stay near brush. Luckily I have lots of brush in my yard and I put feeders near by. The nyjer spillover is a draw for lots of sparrows, including white-throats. I've been fussing the last few days over these two birds which I think are probably juvenile White-throated Sparrows, but I'm not quite sure about the second one. The first one has the beginnings of the yellow dot behind the eye. Neither of these has the strong white stripe on the head, but maybe they're too young, or are of the tan-striped persuasion. Comments or corrections are welcome. The feeder is right outside my computer window so I can watch them while I'm online. Claire

Yesterday afternoon I discovered them making a nest in the hay loft. There is no way for me to get up to those rafters safely and my husband is away. I read on Sialis that some people have luck catching one in a small have-a-hart trap. So I set one up on the shelf in the stall that they hang out in. With any luck I will get one of them and then I can reset it. I am so frustrated by these destructive birds. There are only two right now and they seem to be running my life! I am deeply concerned about the mama Phoebe sitting on her clutch in the stall next door.

Thank you so much everyone! I do only set up the trap when I can monitor it. Cathy, your idea about covering up the orange dot, and disguising the trapping arm is great. I will try that next time I use it. The house sparrow I tried to trap with the Van Ert seemed to know it was there. He would not enter the box when it was in there, and it may be that he could see the color of that orange dot. They are very smart. I promise you all that I will never set up a sparrow trap without careful monitoring. How horrible it would be if I harmed the very birds I'm trying to help!

Yes, guides with arrows pointing to field marks aren't the ultimate in identification. Guides with notes about other birds with similar characteristics and then explanations about what to look for the tell the two apart are helpful. I have found that in most cases where IDs are difficult it's really beneficial to research more than one resource. We really have some tools now that weren't commonly available even fifteen years ago and that's access to the internet and cheaper digital cameras. I keep a digital right by the regular birding window. I take rapid frames of the birds in question from as many angles as I can. Sometimes you don't have time to focus and be fussy. Getting a less than perfect picture is not always a failure. If it helps you to catch the target sitting next to a known bird, immediately you have a handle on size. I also prefer real photographs I find on this forum, because painted representations just leave too much to artistic license. LOL. I sometimes wonder how many really cool sparrows I missed by logging them as something common? So many folks just causally dismiss them because they look similar. This is where you sometimes find your lifers! Keep a notepad handy to your observation station to mark down anything you notice on field marks. I have a good memory but the image in the brain can play tricks on you quickly. Draw a pic if you must, and try to catch some photos. Document, document and document.