BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 29, 2025
Last week, a neighbor asked if it was possible an immature red-headed woodpecker was outside their cabin in Carrabassett Valley. It was, I opined, highly unlikely. Birds that migrate are more likely to get caught up in storms or wander off course. Most woodpeckers don’t migrate, so they’re less likely to show up out of range the way long-distance migrants sometimes do. I suggested the mystery bird could be an immature yellow-bellied sapsucker. I was wrong. My friend’s subsequent photo confirmed a juvenile red-headed woodpecker. Red-bellied woodpeckers pop into Maine every year. But that’s not the weirdest thing. On Nov. 16, Maine recorded its first-ever hybrid yellow-bellied x red-naped sapsucker in Alna. Frankly, I didn’t know there was such a thing. Jeff Cherry produced the photos confirming the identification, and I am in awe. My New Year’s resolution for 2026: Be wrong less often. ~ Bob Duchesne