Recently I received a report of another uncommon bird seen along the Maine coast.

Pat Curtis noticed what appeared to be a woodpecker visiting the water saucer and sunflower seed and suet feeders in her yard. She noted it had a brownish head, the pattern of the coloration making the bird appear as if it were wearing a helmet; a dark, slightly speckled back; and a whitish chest. She also noted it was quick to chase other woodpeckers out of its space.

After studying her field guide, she came to the conclusion that it could be a juvenile red-headed woodpecker and wanted to know if this bird was a common sight in Maine.

Red-headed woodpeckers do not breed here but visit each year throughout fall and winter. Maine Audubon’s Judy Markowsky says there are one to four sightings yearly in the state. Derek Lovitch of the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth reports it is rare but regular along the southern coast. Sightings in midcoastal or Down East areas of the state are more unusual, as are sightings farther north and west, he said.

The adult red-headed woodpecker is striking. Both male and female juvenile birds molt their dull brownish helmets and acquire bright scarlet ones, stark white chests, and solid black backs. Their rumps and the trailing edge of their wings sport clean white patches.

They are pretty unique among our woodpeckers in behavior. They tend to appear sluggish, spending more time sitting in one place than do other woodpeckers. They hunt insects in the usual woodpecker way but also supplement this tactic with fly catching on the wing. They are one of only four woodpecker species to store food, and the only one to actually cover its stored food with bark or other substrate.

They are also, apparently, quite smart. The “Birds of North America” account states that in Huntington Beach State Park, S.C., one was observed placing nuts and pine cones in the road for oncoming cars to crush open.

The BNA also states these birds “are the most pugnacious of North American woodpeckers.” Even the much larger pileated woodpeckers will give way to them!

Red-headed woodpeckers breed from the mid-Atlantic States to the lower half of New England, New York, and out to the Midwest. There are small breeding ranges in southern portions of Canada but none in Maine. Their appearance here seems to coincide with the availability of acorns.

Although red-headed woodpeckers are the most omnivorous of all the North American woodpeckers, in winter they appear to rely heavily on the rich, fatty acorns littering the ground after a good production year. However, these things tend to go in cycles: Years of heavy acorn (or mast) production are often followed by very poor nut crops.

Interestingly enough, after reading about Pat’s visitor, I came across a few posts on the Maine Birding list-serve regarding this year’s acorn crop; it appears it is a poor one. No wonder the red-headed woodpecker in Pat’s yard seemed to be so enthusiastic about her seed and suet feeders. Derek Lovitch also had an insightful observation to add:

“Another sign of how low the acorn crop is this year is how many blue jays are absolutely cleaning out feeders. The time that blue jays would be spending caching acorns is being used to cache even more sunflower seeds and peanuts. A terrible acorn crop three years ago in the mid-Atlantic states is one of the leading theories as to why there was such a large irruption of red-headed, and especially red-bellied, woodpeckers into New England.”

It could be that Pat’s juvenile woodpecker moved out of its range and ended up making a wrong choice on destination. But it’s fascinating to realize that the appearance of an unusual bird is so connected to other natural events.

For up-to-date sightings of birds around the state, as well as past records and great photographs, go to www.mainebirding.net.

BDN bird columnist Chris Corio can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net