Brown Creeper

 The Brown Creeper lives and thrives in trees. It has a long curved bill and a stiff tail, like a woodpecker, that helps to maintain traction. This bird is most often found working its way up and around the tree to extract insects from the bark. When it reaches the top, it will drop to the bottom of the tree and start again.

 It is very difficult to photograph. It is typically tight to the tree under all of the shade and growth surrounding the tree. So far, I have not gotten a good picture of this little bird. However, it is relatively common so I hope to bring home some better shots any day.

For local birders, I saw these birds in the wooded walking trails through the Botanical Gardens and Long Pond, Pippy Park.

In a display of abnormal behaviour, this Brown Creeper caught me off guard as it flew to a nearby tree branch and set for just a moment. Try as I did, I couldn't get my lens adjusted for this close a shot and I may have missed my best opportunity. Should this happen again, I think I will be prepared.

This shot was taken in November 2010. This little Creeper was very small and very fast. While I could keep my eye on it easily enough, I could not get a fast focus before it would flit to another tree. I posted this one because is it somewhat better than the others in this section.