The Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America says the brown creeper is “like a piece of bark come alive.” It does look like this little bird popped off a piece of bark and strapped it on its back. The brown creeper is essentially part of the spirit of a tree because it was born under a piece of bark of a tree and it spends its whole life on a tree. Its essence is so much a part of the tree that its song sounds like it is singing, “tree, tree, beautiful tree!”
Another miraculous thing to think about is that brown creepers spend the whole year here. They are resident birds. And the only thing that they eat are insects and their larvae, spiders, spider eggs, and small arthropods that they glean from the trunks and limbs of trees!
Which opens up another topic worth mentioning is that it is necessary to have older trees with furrowed bark for insects and spiders to live. It is also essential to have older trees that are covered with moss and lichen which also creates essential habitat for insects, spiders and other invertebrates to live.
So, I originally started this post to write about the amazing camouflage of a brown creeper and how easily they disappear on the trunk of a tree. This post contains photos that I recently took and photos that I took over the summer of one of their nests. Hint: There is a brown creeper in every photo. Did you see them right away?
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I hope to see you out there!
