Creepers

Brown Creeper

Certhia Americana
The wooded lot on Edgewater Lane near Durand Eastman Park has been a magnet for many good birds over the years. And fortunately, the residents there – Neil and Laura Moon – are ardent birders who have observed and recorded them. On 23 June 1973, for example, “they found six young Brown Creepers, huddled together around a large knot and clinging to the bark of a tree. They were being fed by the two adults,” the Goshawk noted. (GOS, July-September 1973) “The small birds were huddled so close together that the Moons had trouble counting them,” John Brown observed. “These young creepers were just able to fly, and it was obvious they had to have been hatched in a nest in the immediate vicinity.” (BA, 28 June 1973) It was apparently the first documented breeding record of this species in Monroe County. Local birders are more likely to notice this cryptic bird during migration, usually when one swoops from one tree to the base of another, then begins spiraling up the trunk.Lest anyone think that the life of a bird is all eat, sleep and play, Edson suggested, one need only observe the daily routine of the Brown Creeper – “this little brown, mouse-like birdlet” – in its seemingly endless search for food. “His work-a-day is from dawn to dark, without time off, for his mealtime is one long stretch. His method is to begin at the base of a tree and, spirally, circle the tree searching every possible crevice as he goes up until he finds hunting unfruitful. Then he drops to the base of the next tree to repeat the search. It is seldom, indeed, that this bird is seen resting and he is never seen enjoying the scenery. Apparently his only interest in life is this near-sighted search for food. But, were it not for his care, many more of our trees would be destroyed than is now the case. (WBR, 21 February 1938).
Background North America’s only treecreeper is so cryptic in its coloration and high pitched in its vocalizations that if often goes unnoticed. But it breeds in coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests from Alaska south along the Pacific Coast to California, across much of southern Canada, in the Rockies south into Mexico, in the Great Lakes region and northeast United States, with some populations even reaching Nicaragua. It is unique in placing its hammock-like nest behind a loosened flap of bark on a dead or dying tree. This species is most abundant in mature and old-growth forests in summer, but uses a wide variety of wooded habitats in winter. Though a year-round resident in many parts of it range, it withdraws from northern regions in winter. Numbers have increased in New England in recent decades, probably because of reforestation, and tree die-offs due to Dutch Elm disease and gypsy moth infestations. However, habitat loss has extirpated some local populations in New York, Michigan and the lower Colorado River Valley, and there have been long-term, ongoing declines in the Northwest and Southwest due to loss of forests and mature pines. Forest fragmentation and timber harvesting of old and mature growth forests remain the greatest threat to this species. (BNA 669: 1, 2, 20-21)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as an abundant transient in Monroe County, common in Livingston and Wayne, and an uncommon winter visitor in Monroe, occasional in Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of 35, on dates ranging from 23 August to 20 May. There had been two sightings in June and July “but nest not found, we have found no breeding record.” When Leo Tanghe examined 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951-54, this species was reported 387 times, primarily as a migrant and winter visitor. For example, 125 sightings were reported the second week of April into early May when average counts of 7-10 occurred. There were no records in July and August. (KB 5: 69: 5A-5B)In 1953 he listed it as a probable breeder at Bergen Swamp. (GOS, May/August 1953)“There must be dead or dying trees in the area, with loose shingles of bark adhering to them,” Emanuel Levine notes in his discussion of this species in The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. “The nest is almost invariably placed behind one of those shingles…” (Andrle, p. 298)This lends additional credence to Howard Miller’s observation in 1969, amidst the onslaught of Dutch Elm disease, that “with the large number of suitable nesting sites provided by countless dead elms, the bird may increase as a nesting species.” (KB19: 216) Indeed, two years later Richard O’Hara observed that Brown Creepers “are definitely breeding more commonly than we were ever previously aware of here.” Reports of one to four birds had been received from several areas that summer, including Mendon Ponds, Powder Mill Park and Honeoye Lake. (KB 21: 221)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an uncommon permanent resident. Maxima below suggest it is also a spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this an uncommon permanent resident, a regular common to rare winter visitant and a (presumably regular) common to rare spring and fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: In late April 1975, Durward Skiff of Webster and Francis Orcutt of Penn Yan “ran into the greatest concentration of migrating Brown creepers that either one of them had ever seen” in Island Cottage Wood and the woods at the hawk lookout, John Brown reported. “Skiff estimates that they must have seen between 200 and 300 creepers in a matter of two or three hours.” (BA, 7 May 1975 – but no report in GOS, LG or KB) Brown Creepers withdraw in winter from the northern parts of their range, accounting for migrating groups seen here in spring and fall.
Spring maxima: 40+ on 31 March 2005 at Braddock Bay. (KB 55:272) 75 on 14 April 1960 (Listman) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, March/July 1960) 21 banded on 15 April 2003 (BBBO) at Manitou. (KB 53: 235) 50 on 20 April 1954 (Van Beurden, Corcoran) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, March-April 1954) 75 on 20 April 1980 (R. and F. Dobson) west lakeshore. (GOS, June 1980) 30 on 23 April 1966 (Doherty, Starling) west lakeshore. (GNR) 200 on 24 April 1965 (Starling et al) along the lakeshore. (KB15: 166) 25 on 6 May 1983 (Griffith) Island Cottage Wood. (GOS, September 1983)
Summer/breeding status: Even before the first documented nesting on the Moons’ property, there were strong indications of probable nesting in Monroe County. Seven, for example, were at Powder Mill Park (Starling, S. Taylor) on 12 July 1966. (GOS, July/September 1966) During the summer of 1971 reports of one to four birds were obtained “from several locations” including Mendon Ponds, Powder Mills Park and Honeoye Lake. (KB21: 221) This species was also considered a “nesting specialty” of Bergen Swamp. (BA, 5 June 1974) The first BBA project found the heaviest concentration of confirmed or probable breeding in higher elevations to the south, especially in eastern Wyoming County and Letchworth SP. That pattern remained true during the second project, with one significant change: A significant decrease in Monroe County, where evidence had been found in 20 blocks during the first project. During the second project, no better than “possible” breeding was documented.

Fall: Of the 30 most common species banded in fall at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 12th with 750 birds taken from the nets.
Fall maxima: 60 on 23 September 1968 (Listman) along the west lakeshore. (GOS, November 1968) 60 on 28 September 1963 (Listman, Reddig) at Manitou. (GOS, November 1963) 33 banded on 26 October 2003 (BBBO) at Manitou. (GNR)
Winter: “In winter, it can often be found foraging in mixed species flocks, such as chickadees, woodpeckers, kinglets and nuthatches,” Fox notes. (Fox, p. 71)

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