This cute little bird can be seen in in every state in the United States except Hawaii. You’ll find it “creeping” up trunks of trees—usually in a spiral pattern—looking for insects. When it reaches the top of a tree, it flies down toward the ground and starts up the base of another tree trunk.
The Brown Creeper can be hard to spot because the color of its feathers blend in with the tree bark. These birds are only about 5 inches long.
The other day I spotted one looking for insects on the trunk of my neighbor’s oak tree. Brown Creepers have short legs which help them stay close to the bark they scour for insects like stinkbugs, caterpillars and spiders. They pluck them out with their long, curved bills.
Brown Creepers move up trees headfirst while nuthatches move down trees headfirst, and experts say that gives both species a better chance of finding the insects the other one missed.
Occasionally Brown Creepers will visit backyard birdfeeders. They like peanut butter, suet, sunflower seeds and corn.
If you have any big trees in your backyard, or if there’s a park nearby with big trees, you may just see a Brown Creeper spiraling up the trunk!