Bird Sightings: Treecreeper

Photograph © Andy L
Stornoway Castle Grounds - Isle of Lewis - Outer Hebrides (Western Isles)
22nd April, 2008

"Enclosed are a couple of pics i took in the castle grounds yesterday the grey wagtail was feeding in the falls of the creed and the treecreepers were sighted around the castle..."

Our treecreeper photographs:

Treecreepers live for up to 8 years.

At 12 to 13cm, the treecreeper is a small bird, sparrow-sized.

A treecreeper has a short neck. Its plumage above is brown and is streaked and spotted.
The underparts are white. It has a brown rump, and a long tail.

In flight the treecreeper has long and broad rounded wings which have a pale bar.

There are an estimated to 210,000 treecreeper territories in the UK.

In the Western Isles there was a peak of about 10 pairs in Stornoway Castle Grounds in 1966, since then they have declined in number, with only one or two sightings some years.

A treecreeper lays six eggs, white with brown spots, in a twig nest built into the trunk of a tree.

There are only about three records of treecreepers anywhere in the Western Isles outside of the Stornoway Castle Grounds.
In October 2006 one was spotted in a garden in Gisla, on the Isle of Lewis.
There was a number of years ago, a report of a treecreeper feeding on Mingulay cliffs.

RSPB information says that most birds in the UK leave their territories in the Autumn but few range further than 20km.

Treecreepers favour coniferous woodland, they get their name from the way in which they feed.

An insect-eater, the treecreeper also eats spiders, and in wintertime some seeds.
It has a long, downward-curving bill, perfect for the task of picking them out of the crevices in bark.

Starting at the base of a tree and quietly creeping upward in a jerky manner, a treecreeper moves up the trunk following a spiralling a path upward then moves along the thicker branches searching for insects. It then flies down and starts the process again on another tree. A treecreeper has distinctive long toes which help it to grip the bark of a tree.

Treecreepers were 55% below usual productivity in 2007. This is their worst year on record.

thewesternisles.co.uk

Bird Sightings : Hebrides : Treecreeper

Treecreeper

Certhia familiaris

Our treecreeper photographs:

Treecreeper

There are an estimated to 210,000 treecreeper territories in the UK.

Treecreepers favour coniferous woodland, they get their name from the way in which they feed.