Bird of the Week: Brown Creeper

Looking like a piece of bark come to life, the Brown Creeper hops up the trunks of trees, looking for insects and insect eggs tucked into crevasses in the bark. Streaked brown and buff above, with their white underparts usually hidden against a tree trunk, Brown Creepers blend easily into the tree. While spiraling up tree trunks in search of insects, it holds its short legs on either side of its body, with the long, curved claws hooking into the bark, and braces itself with its long, stiff tail. Both feet hop at the same time, making the bird’s head duck after each hop. The Brown Creeper rarely climbs downward, once high in a tree, it flies down to the base of a nearby tree to begin a new upward climb. Though they eat mostly insects, in winter Brown Creepers will eat suet and peanut butter, and occasionally sunflower seeds, pine seeds, and corn. Find out more about what this bird likes to eat by using the Project FeederWatch Common Feeder Birds bird list found here: https://feederwatch.org/learn/common-feeder-birds/. Happy Birding!