The woods seem to be full of surprises this winter.

Last week I wrote about the gray catbird I have been seeing on my walks this winter. On a walk last week, which was done when it was about 15 degrees outside, I had four species that were marked as “unusual” by eBird, a maassive database of bird sightings. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the birds are rare, but rather they are not commonly seen in New England during the winter. The species were: catbird, hermit thrush, purple finch and yellow-bellied sapsucker. 

The catbird, thrush and finch were all species I had seen on previous walks this winter. In fact, it seems as though I typically find a hermit thrush or two each winter in New England. Like the catbird, hermit thrushes typically migrate south of New England before winter, but some remain in our region, opting to tolerate the cold weather rather than take on the risks of migration.

The sapsucker was an interesting sighting on this walk. I was watching a red-tailed hawk perched on a branch above a trail when I heard another bird in the vicinity. I turned and found another red-tailed hawk perched on another nearby branch. The sound, however, was not coming from either of the hawks.

I zeroed in on the sound and found a sapsucker calling and tapping on a tree beneath the hawks. I watched the bird for several minutes as it did what sapsuckers do: tap on trees and lick the sap that drips from the holes. It was interesting to watch and a good indication of how some birds are named because of behavioral traits.

Coincidentally, about half an hour later into the walk, I found another yellow-bellied sapsucker. This one was in a completely different part of the park and was simply flitting from tree trunk to tree trunk rather than tapping holes into the trees.

The sapsucker and northern flicker are the only woodpeckers in New England that are migratory, with the sapsucker being the only true migrant with distinct breeding and nonbreeding areas. Many flickers prefer to remain in New England rather than migrate. Sapsuckers typically migrate, even as far south as Central America and the Caribbean, but, like the aforementioned species, a handful will remain in New England.

I think the relatively warm fall and early winter we experienced caused many of these birds to forego migration and decide to stick out the cold weather in New England. I was worried when I looked for the catbird during the cold snap, but it was alive and well in its usual spot along the trail with plenty of berries around to sustain it.

An obvious question that comes to mind is whether or not climate change is altering the migration patterns of bird species. There is evidence that climate is impacting migration in many ways, most obviously in the timing and how far the birds go. That’s why citizen science projects such as eBird, Christmas Bird Count, Great Backyard Bird Count and Project Feeder are so vital in providing information for scientists to analyze and answer those questions.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is right around the corner in mid-February. I’ll provide more details on how to participate (it’s free) in a future For the Birds column. In the meantime, have you seen any unusual birds this winter? Send me an email and let me know.