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

Since woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters, they are unlikely to use your boxes for nesting. I don't believe that HOSP is much a problem for woodpeckers, which should be able to successfully defend themselves with their strong beaks. The main problem for woodpeckers by far is habitat loss due to lack of dead trees. Then starlings, which compete with red-headed woodpeckers and flickers. Red-bellied woodpeckers are pretty assertive birds so I don't think starlings are as much of a problem for them. There is such a thing as a starling resistant flicker house, but again since woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters, I don't know how often they'd use one of those.

Very nice photo! I still have white-throats here in southeast MA. They're here all winter and may breed here as well although I usually don't see them in the summer. They've been singing away so they may be intent on staying around. I've been learning how to see them more regularly (bribe them with nyjer seed on the ground and look just before it gets dark) so maybe this summer I'll keep seeing them. Claire This post was edited by claire on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 20:03

I only get a few House Sparrows here but would find a horde of them intolerable and would remove the feeders (especially during the summer/fall, when food is more abundant for birds). There are more active measures you can take if you are willing. I have a BB gun but have never been able to hit one, however I have trapped a few with an inbox trap when Bluebirds were nesting in my yard. I would definitely remove the English Sparrow nests and discourage them from nesting in the Arborvitaes. Another thing I read you can do, is flush the birds from the arborvitaes on very cold nights. They will be unlikely to find new cover after dark and will be vulnerable to predators and hypothermia.