Eucate Yourself About the Brown Creeper and its Habitat
Brown Creeper
The Brown Creeper has a thin decurved beak, small and slim body, mottled brownish back and plumage that blends into the bark, white underside, a bold, buffy band on the wings, conspicuous above and below, and a stiff tail. Its length is 5in (13cm)
Its wingspan is 7in (18cm) Its voice is a song of a thin sibilant “see-ti-wee-tuee” or “see-see-see-sisi-see”. Their eggs are creamy white with speckles of red-brown, with 1 clutch consisting of 5-6 or (4-8) eggs. The female incubates for about 14-17 days, and the fledging time is around 13-16 days. Both male and female feed their young. Male and female look alike.
The Brown Creeper’s musical song of a thin sibilant “see-ti-wee-tu-ee” might be one of the first notes you hear in early spring, when taking a nice hike in the forest. Its high thin call might also remind you of the Golden-crowned Kinglet’s quick trebled call. Watch out for the Brown Creeper as you pass large trees, you can probably get a quick glance at him, spiraling upward, and along branches, exploring both the top and underside, looking for food.
The Brown creeper uses his downward-curved beak to pry hidden dormant insects, eggs, as well as bugs, ants, aphids’ weevils, and spiders from the tree bark. They are usually solitary birds, except for when they join other flocks like chickadees, sparrows, and other small forest birds. But when first arriving to their wintering places during fall migration they can be some what gregarious (sociable).
Creepers are usually found in swampy forests, especially ones where they can find slabs of loose hanging bark on dead trees, but they can be found in both coniferous and deciduous forests as well. At night the creepers will take a sleeping position of clinging on to the bark and using its stiff, pointed tail as a prop.
The Brown Creepers will build their nests in crevices, created when the bark starts to exfoliate (peel) off dead tree trunks; they seem to favor large bark slabs, peeled off the American Elm trees, as an excellent spot for a nest site. For building materials they use wood chips, mosses, plant stems, and line them with soft grass and either grouse or duck feathers, if available, to make it extra cozy for the young ones.
If you like to attract the Brown Creeper, fill your hanging bird feeders and bird tables, in your lovely bird feeding garden, with chopped peanuts, and they also like mixes of cornmeal, peanut-butter, and suet. Look up our section on RECEPIES, to learn more.
