From the archives: feathered Friday - The Brown Creeper

by Rachel Ames

Now that most of the summer breeding bird species have left the Estes Valley, it is time to focus on the hearty birds who stay here during the “off” season. One of the more commonly heard, but rarely seen, species is the Brown Creeper. The range of the thirteen subspecies of Brown Creepers includes most of the US, southern Canada and into Alaska. In this region, they tend to breed in old-growth coniferous forests with lots of dead (or burned) trees so that they can make their nest in the peeling bark of a “snag” (or dead tree that hasn’t fallen, yet). They eat all sorts of insects and larvae, spiders, spider eggs and ants that they find by probing their curved beaks upwards into the bark of trees. In winter, they also eat some seeds and vegetable matter. Brown Creepers often flock with chickadees and nuthatches. Males and females look similar – streaked brown above and white below, but juveniles have a little more streaking on their undersides. The Brown Creeper’s beautifully camouflaged feathers make them very difficult to find, though, so look for them circling up a tree trunk while they search for food under the bark. Once they have finished gleaning from one tree, they will fly to the base of another tree and start climbing up again. Only the male sings (and usually at the breeding grounds) but both sexes have a high-pitched call that sounds a little like the call of the Golden-crowned Kinglet. To hear the song of a Brown Creeper, go to: https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photosmultimedia/sounds-

Brown Creepers always work their way up a tree truck, circling it as they go.

Brown Creepers are well camouflaged when on a trunk of a tree.

Brown Creepers are rarely seen on the ground.

Brown Creeper.