BARRINGTON — With a critter named the Brown Creeper, one might imagine a big crawling insect, but in reality it's one of our region's unique birds. Creepers are not particularly secretive, but with their small size and well-camouflaged feathering they are easily overlooked. Unlike so many kinds of birds, there is only one species in North America, although the same species is found in Western Europe (but called the Treecreeper).
They are most closely related to titmice and nuthatches, and are sometimes seen in their company along with chickadees. But unlike White-breasted Nuthatches, which feed on small insects by working their way down a tree trunk head first, the Brown Creeper flies to the base of a tree and works its upright way up and around the trunk, then flies to the base of an adjacent tree to repeat the maneuver.
Brown Creepers have a streaked brown back, white chest and throat, and a white eye stripe. The dark beak is sharp and decurved, and the stiff tail serves as a prop while foraging. The see see see ti wi song and single alarm note are high-pitched, probably beyond my hearing range. These birds are year-round woodland residents but there is some southerly withdrawal in the winter.
The female does most of the work in building the compact, crescent-shaped nest, well-hidden behind the flap of loose bark on a dead or living tree. (Another good reason not to rush into taking down dead trees — woodpeckers excavate nesting holes in them, and in subsequent years chickadees, bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and other birds sometimes utilize the holes.) The male creeper helps by bringing her material: twigs, leaves, etc. and finer material for lining the nest. (I found one quite by accident one spring day when I saw a Brown Creeper disappear behind a slab of bark.) Four to 8 eggs are laid, incubation takes two weeks, and the young fly two weeks later.
Brown Creepers seem to be loners — I have never seen more than one at a time, but it's always a treat to see that one methodically foraging for insects.
At the Wednesday, Dec. 14 meeting of Seacoast Audubon, Mike Harvey, a Louisiana State University graduate student, will present a program called The Frontiers of Field Ornithology: Discovery and Adventure in the Upper Amazon. In a land where new species are still being discovered and where the field of ornithology lags a century behind, Harvey will discuss his research in the upper Amazon basin, principally central Peru. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. with refreshments at 7 p.m. All are welcome.
December brings the annual nationwide Christmas Bird Count, a 100-year-old tradition. Statewide, a new "count circle" — the 21st — has been established in the Crawford Notch area. Each circle is 15 miles in diameter, and birders attempt to tally every bird within that area. Locally, the Lee-Durham circle is centered near the Barrington-Madbury boundary, and includes parts of Rochester, Somersworth, Dover, Rollinsford, Nottingham, Epping, and Newmarket. This count will be held on Dec. 23. All interested birders are invited to participate. Contact NH Audubon for the name of a local coordinator.