Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: P1020808 FZ18

I was very lucky this afternoon to come across a small Brown Creeper feeding on some seeds that someone had placed on a tree stump in the middle of the forest. The sun just happened to be shining on to this stump. You can clearly see the white underparts, white eyebrow and the long, down-curved bill. Someone must be spending a fortune buying seed to leave for all the birds and squirrels!! "To quote the first sentence in the "Birds of Alberta" book by Fisher and Acorn: "Creepers are downright hard to find". Intent on its feeding, the creeper spirals up large tree trunks, myopically plucking hidden invertebrate morsels from bark fissures with its tweezer-like bill. When it reaches the upper branches, the creeper takes a short flight down to the base of a neighbouring tree to begin another ascent. When Brown Creepers are frightened, they freeze and flatten against tree trunks, becoming even harder to see." Uncommon year-round in Alberta. Very difficult birds to photograph, as they move so quickly! When I do see them, they are usually climbing up a tree, not feeding on the ground. Camouflage for these small birds is amazing when they are against the tree bark.