Smith: Rare 'ghost bird' woodpecker spotted along the Milwaukee River

GLENDALE – The early afternoon calm Saturday along the Milwaukee River was shattered by the sound of a rare visitor.

"Kuk, kuk, kukkukkuk, kuk, kuk."

The notes echoed through the hardwoods and across the river, where Peter Thornquist of Glendale was visiting a neighbor.

Thornquist looked in the direction of the raucous call and saw the source.

A bird, which to the uninitiated might have looked like a white chicken, flew across the river to the trunk of a dead tree and roosted vertically, where it proceeded to use its bill to hammer on the bark.

As Thornquist knew, this was no escaped poultry but a pileated woodpecker, a wild, awe-inspiring species not commonly seen in Milwaukee County. And to top it off, this individual had a rare, mostly white coloration on its body to go with its typical dashing red crest and mustache.

The "ghost bird" was back.

Thornquist, who believes he also saw the same woodpecker in April 2017 and May 2019, jumped in his vehicle and drove across the nearest bridge, then parked and, camera in hand, hiked down through the riverside forest.

It was a patch of the public land he knows well; he adopted it and helps care for it through a Milwaukee Riverkeeper program.

To his relief, the pileated was still there, sending wood shards flying with its powerful bill as it looked for a meal.

"I was very, very lucky," Thornquist said. "Thankful, too, to get such a good look at him this time. He looks quite mythical."

Thornquist was able to observe and photograph the bird for about 10 minutes as it flapped from tree to tree and probed for ants, grubs and insects.

The bird's unique coloration is called leucism, a lack of pigmentation in parts of its plumage.

He shared one photo with Milwaukee Riverkeeper, a science-based advocacy organization working for swimmable, fishable rivers throughout the Milwaukee River Basin, which posted the image on its Facebook page.

Interest in the social media posting has been "intense," said Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper for the organization. The only other item that has drawn as much attention was a video a couple years ago of a river otter playing on the ice of the Menomonee River in Wauwatosa, Nenn said.

"The term is ‘charismatic megafauna,’" Nenn said. "We don’t have tigers or bears, but we do have some very special birds."

About the size of a crow, the pileated woodpecker is a big, dashing bird and the largest woodpecker in North America.

It's also distinguished by red plumage on the head and by its call, which is sometimes described as "wild laughter." The "Woody Woodpecker" character is a cartoon version of the bird.

If you see a large, rectangular hole in a tree, you know a pileated has been there. The birds have such strong bills and neck muscles that they can drill into live trees if desired. 

Pileated woodpeckers have fared quite well as a species over the last 50 years in the U.S.

Their populations steadily increased from 1966 to 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 1.9 million with 67% living in the U.S. and 33% in Canada.

Pileateds' feeding holes and nest cavities benefit other species, including flying squirrels.

One of its favorite foods is the carpenter ant, nests of which the pileated drills into and plunders.

Although pileated woodpeckers are doing well overall, they aren't commonly seen in Milwaukee County.

The Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II, a five-year field project completed last year, did not confirm a breeding pair of the birds in Milwaukee County.  

But individuals have been documented on eBird in the county about a dozen times over the last decade, said Tim Vargo of the Urban Ecology Center. 

The sightings included several at Lake Park and Riverside Park in Milwaukee as well as Wehr Nature Center in Greendale. 

Vargo, who leads a weekly UEC bird walk, said encountering a pileated is a distinct delight for any outing. 

"When one is spotted a hush falls over the crowd," Vargo said. "The bird is so huge, and then you hear that call, and everybody is silent with reverence and awe."

The pileated Thornquist photographed Saturday was arguably more fetching than others of its species due to its mostly white plumage.

Leucism is found in many bird species, said Bill Mueller, retired director of the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory in Port Washington, although it varies widely.

Some leucistic birds might have just a patch of white feathers where it would normally be brown, and others might be white over nearly the entire bird, Mueller said. A leucistic red-tailed hawk has been spotted in southeastern Wisconsin for the last several years.

The leucistic pileated Thornquist photographed Saturday was a male, an identification made possible by the red slash along its bill. Females of the species have a red crown only.

Thornquist said he's only seen a pileated woodpecker in Milwaukee County three times, and each was leucistic. He believes it's been the same individual.

The distinctive bird may have been spotted by others in southeastern Wisconsin in recent years, too.

A leucistic pileated has been reported at Cedarburg Bog in Saukville, Mequon Nature Preserve in Mequon and Schiltz Audubon Center in Bayside, according to local birders. 

Given its call, appearance and behaviors, if it stays in the area it will likely continue to be observed. 

Is it possible the male pileated has been traveling widely looking for a mate?

"If that's true, I hope he finds one," Thornquist said. "It would be great to have a family of them gracing the Milwaukee River corridor."