Tuesday 16 March 2010

Treecreeper

Treecreepers are beautifully adapted to hunting for small insects in the bark of trees. Those long, needle shape claws give them the grip they need to climb and hang on the underside of branches and their beak is like a long, curved pair of fine forceps. You can often see them in the Botanic Garden (where this one was photographed on an alder tree on Monday lunchtime) or along the woodland nature trail at the bottom of the garden.
In winter they are most often seen in small flocks of blue tits, great tits and long-tailed tits but from spring onwards they're more solitary. Treecreepers have a characteristic foraging strategy, starting at the bottom of the tree, working their way upwards and exploring every crevice until they're maybe 5 -10 metres above the ground then flying to the base of another trunk and starting all over again. Nuthatches tend to use the reverse strategy, often climbing down trees head-first.
Treecreepers nest behind loose bark on dead trees.




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