Tree Creeper

Looking out of my lounge window a week or two back, I was surprised and delighted to see a tree creeper, not creeping up a tree but prospecting the mortared crevices on a retaining brick wall just a few feet in front of the window at which I stood.  I was very glad of the chance to observe this bird at such close quarters.

Tree creepers are sparrow sized, and have cryptic plumage of browns, buffs and greys that blend in well against the bark of a tree (though not against our brick wall).  At first sight, they can be more mouse-like than bird-like, as they creep up the trunk of a tree, often circling the tree as they do so.  They keep close to the bark, and use  their stiff tails as a sort of prop as they climb.  The bird then flies back down to start again, or to transfer to another tree.

They feed on small insects and other invertebrates, and life can be tough in a hard winter.  They are efficient hunters, though, and the long, thin, curved bill makes an excellent probe.  Watching the one on our wall, I was interested to see how the bird can stretch its neck upwards and back so as to raise the head while keeping the body close to whatever it is climbing on.

There are some insects active at every season of the year, except when the weather is really cold - but tree creepers are also searching for hibernating insects, and for eggs and pupae too.  We used to see them regularly on the giant redwood we had in a previous garden;  the soft bark of this and other coniferous trees is especially attractive, and its deep fissures and loose pieces of bark provide shelter for insects and also a possible nest-site for the bird.  Tree creepers will nest behind loose bark or ivy, making a loose cup of a nest, lined with bark fragments and feathers, where the female will lay her six or so eggs.  The nestlings leave the nest after a couple of weeks, by which time they can climb well, but are not yet good fliers.

“My” tree creeper spent maybe ten minutes on the brick wall, usefully I hope, before moving its attention to an old stump which it climbed in the traditional manner.  This is a bird that does exactly what its name says!  Then it moved to a small tree, and on to another out of my area of vision.  Normally, you’ll see a tree creeper begin its search near the base of the trunk of one tree, spiral its way up, then fly down to the base of the next tree along to continue prospecting. 

The main distinguishing marks are an eye-stripe which is white or light grey, the stiff tail which divides into two points, and of course the very distinct long curved bill.  Both sexes are alike.  Another species of tree creeper, the short-toed, is found in continental Europe;  the two species are very hard to tell apart in the field, but the short-toed tree creeper is very rarely ever found in the UK.  Someone I used to know in south Shropshire had a tree creeper that regularly visited his feeders, something I have never known elsewhere.  In winter, though, they can be found in mixed flocks, with tits and other small birds.