Shawn Carey recently photographed and took a video of the visiting black-backed woodpecker. See Shawn Carey’s video of the bird.

There’s a rare woodpecker that has been hanging around Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain creating quite a buzz (or, shall we say, knock). The black-backed woodpecker, is a medium-sized (9.5”) woodpecker with an all black back, dark-barred sides on a whitish breast, and a bright yellow crown patch (males only) that is normally found in boreal spruce and fir forests from Newfoundland to Alaska.

While rare, it isn’t the first time this type of woodpecker has been spotted in Massachusetts. In fact, one reported sighting many years ago in 1956 was discovered by our very own Wayne Petersen, Mass Audubon’s Director of the Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program, back when he was only 12 years old.

When asked about the recent sighting, Petersen recalled this discovery, which he shared in the Fall/Winter 2013 issue of Sanctuary magazine.

“My personal affinity for woodpeckers enjoys a venerable genesis involving an elm tree. By the time I reached the seventh grade, I was already a dedicated birdwatcher, so during those seemingly interminable middle school days practically every spare moment was spent outdoors on the lookout for new birds to add to my list.

One October day a birding buddy and I noticed an unfamiliar woodpecker working on a grand old and dying American elm situated along a roadside in our local birding patch. Carefully noting the woodpecker’s markings, we were struck by the brilliant patch of yellow on its crown—a marking unique to only two North American woodpeckers.

After brief consultation, my companion and I announced in unison that the woodpecker was a three-toed woodpecker, more specifically: “The species on the left page!” This joint proclamation specifically referred to the Louis Agassiz Fuertes color plate illustrating the Arctic three-toed woodpecker (today called the black-backed woodpecker) on plate 60 in T. Gilbert Pearson’s Birds of America (1917). On the facing page was a depiction of the closely related American three-toed woodpecker—the species with which our discovery could most easily have been confused.

Little did I realize at the time that the woodpecker and that old dying elm tree would ultimately give me my “15 minutes of fame.” A call to the Massachusetts Audubon Society eventually led to my name appearing in a Boston newspaper where Wayne Hanley, Mass Audubon’s editor of publications at the time, printed the news of my discovery in an article titled, “Nature Sends Rare Northern Bird Here.” In seventh grade this is as good as it gets!”

Do you have a great bird sighting story to share?

We’d love to read them in the comments!

Like us, many animals put on a new set of “clothes” during the colder months. Here are five local creatures that sport different looks in summer and winter.

American Goldfinch Spinus tristis

When the weather grows cold, people inevitably start asking about all those drab yellow-gray birds that are visiting their feeders. They’ve just discovered the American goldfinch’s secret identity. In autumn the male loses his black forehead and most of his striking yellow color, and the female becomes browner. In both sexes the bill turns from pink to gray. As winter progresses, you’ll see hints of that bright plumage coming back.

© David Parrish (left), © Manjith Kainickara, Flickr user manjithkaini (right)

Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

Shrewd bird feeder watchers will notice seasonal differences in the appearance of this familiar visitor. In summer the red squirrel has dark stripes down its sides, but in winter these features fade and it develops a rich red line down its back. The color changes accompany a new thicker coat of fur that includes long ear tufts.

Gilles Gonthier from Flickr (both images)

Common Loon Gavia immer

At the end of the summer breeding season the loon begins a dramatic transformation. It loses the familiar black and white checker-spot pattern and becomes almost unrecognizable in drab grey-white plumage. Also, it leaves its picturesque lake habitat and heads for the sea. It tends to stick close to land, and you can often see a loon—hiding in plain sight—if you visit the coast in winter.

© Michael Phillips (left), © Bruce DeGraaf (right)

Snowshoe Hare Lepus americanus

Unlike the more common cottontail rabbit, which is always brown, the snowshoe hare turns white in the winter. It prefers colder spruce-fir forests, and its winter outfit of thick white insulating hairs keeps it warm and hidden from predators. This wardrobe shift is triggered by the length of the day. Unfortunately, if there’s not enough snow, the hare really stands out against the brown terrain, which has scientists worried about this species’ future as the climate changes.

Short-tailed Weasel Mustela erminea

You may know this animal by the names “stoat” or “ermine”. It has a long, thin body and a black tail tip. In the fall it sheds its brown summer coat and gains a thick, soft white one. This helps it blend into the snowy landscape, keeping it hidden from predators such as hawks and owls while it stalks small rodents and rabbits.

Flickr user bgblogging (left)

These are just a few of the many animals that have a different winter look. What other changes have you noticed?