From the files of Donald R. Kirk…
Part 4. Brown Creeper Surprise
I rise from my seat and walk on along the trail around the lake. Leaving the meadow, I enter a forest of mostly ponderosa pine with intermingled white fir. It occurs to me that I still haven’t found a long–horn beetle, so I pay more attention to suitable habitats for those insects. Off the trail a short distance, I discover a dead ponderosa pine on which hangs a large piece of loose bark about five feet above the ground.
Not wanting to pull it completely free I tug the bottom gently outward, hopping to dislodge whatever insects may be under the bark. Startled, I jump back at the sudden appearance of five small, fluttering, brown birds. In the blink of an eye, three, flying low to the ground, disappear into the forest. Two land on nearby tree trunks, flatten themselves out, spread their wings, and remain motionless. If I hadn’t seen them do it, I would have trouble picking them out against the rough bark. Their appearance and especially their behavior identifies these five inch long birds as brown creepers. I back away and lean comfortably against a pine. Before long, the two birds pull themselves up, clinging to the tree trunk with their sharp claws and supported by long, stiff tail feathers, much in the manner of woodpeckers. One of them flies out of sight into a thick grove of pine. The other begins to hunt for food where it recently had flattened itself.
The strip of loose bark that had hidden the brown creepers is twelve or fourteen inches wide and five or six feet long. It appears securely attached to the tree at the top and hangs three or four inches loose at the bottom, which is about belt level to me. I get down on my knees to peer up under the bark. Sure enough, I can see the hammock–like nest, built of moss, pine needles, shreds of bark, and grasses. All this is supported on twigs, bark, and leaves stuffed between the loose bark slab and the dead wood of the tree. Although brown creepers are fairly common in these forests, and are not very scary, this is the first time I have been lucky enough to get close to them, and to find a nest.
Both sexes build the nest, in which are laid four to eight eggs. The female spends two weeks incubating the eggs by herself. The male feeds her insects and seeds during this time. Two more weeks pass while the young get ready to meet the world. My guess is that the five birds I surprised are only recently out of that nest.
Brown creepers have white underparts and brown, buff–streaked wings, back, and head. The slender beak is curved downward. When foraging tree trunks for insects the birds move up the tree, spiraling around it as they climb. Sometimes they zigzag their way up the tree. Unlike nuthatches, brown creepers do not move sideways around a tree or turn upside down and crawl downward. Instead, they fly to the base of another tree and begin another spiral climb.
It’s only noontime, but I have brought no lunch, so I head back to camp. Tomorrow is another day, and I still want to find a long–horned beetle. End