Brown creeper eating suet crumbs on my porch rail on November 29, 2021. [Photo: Cathie Bird]
I saw my first brown creeper back in the early 2000's -- not long after I moved to Tennessee -- and hadn't seen another one until November 3rd this year when one showed up at my suet feeders. It came late afternoon with a very active group of tufted titmice, Carolina chickadees and a pair of white-breasted nuthatches that baffled my eyes and had me guessing at their actual number. So many little birds at once -- I feel very lucky to have caught a glimpse at all. At first I thought it was a nuthatch but something about the color and feather pattern made me reach for my binoculars to check it out. What a happy day, seeing a creeper again!
Brown creeper at suet feeder, November 19, 2021 [Photo: Cathie Bird]
Since then, I've seen it half a dozen times, and even gotten a few photos with a whole, non-blurry creeper in them! Sometimes I see it gleaning bark on a white oak tree or the stick railing on my porch. I've now seen it at each of the three styles of suet feeders, but one of its favorite spots is on the porch rail under the suet ball feeder where it cleans up the crumbs.
Brown creeper searching for crumbs under a suet ball feeder. November 24, 2021 [Photo: Cathie Bird]
Brown creeper, gleaning bark on a white oak trunk on November 18, 2021. [Photo: Cathie Bird]
Like many of the birds that visit my feeders and planter garden, the brown creeper tends to land in the same spot and visit the feeders in a specific pattern that has allowed me to anticipate where it will be -- this has allowed me to get (finally!) some fairly decent photos. It often comes between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. That's helped me add to the number of sightings, I think.
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