I have started a new thread for this as the other was taking so long to load I had to stop watching it!
I had a bird yesterday running around and up the oak tree, which I don't recognise, it has a narrow, long sharp beak and was obviously looking for food hiding in the bark, at one stage it's head disappeared under a hollow near the base. It ran rather than hopped as a woodpecker does.
It has a white breast and a mottled cream and brown back.
The link to the previous thread
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/564086/#new
Another view of the back of this bird
Don't know that much about European birds and can't find it in my Collins guide, but it looks/acts a lot like a brown creeper from North America. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/BROCRE/
Wow that was quick boojum!
I thought it might be a creeper of some sort, it does look very similar!
Another view
This shows the head profile, it looks like the head is further back above the beak than below, if that makes sense!
Here it is foraging under the bark
Just looked so familiar. I can't find the name creeper in my Collins guide. I'll look again. Could this be a migrant?
A found it!! A treecreeper! In the nuthatch section and it's in the UK on the map!
I'll have to do some searching, it could possibly be a migrant, the weather patterns have changed so much. I have seen other birds which I haven't been able to get pics of and haven't seen before, they come to drink in the water outside my front window.
Resin might pop in to give us a clue!
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)
Resin
Treecreeper was my first thought, I have had something creeping around the horse chestnut tree last year but couldn't see it properly.
Thanks! Are they seen often?
here's more info.
http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/treecreeper.asp
it could possibly be a migrant
Had a couple of them in my local public park this morning.
Remembered I got this pic a couple of months ago:
That's strange how it only occurs in a small area of France, and yet is in much of Europe.
http://www.birdguides.com/html/vidlib/species/Certhia_familiaris.htm
In most of France it is replaced by the Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachytactyla), which generally has a more southerly distribution: http://www.birdguides.com/html/vidlib/species/Certhia_brachydactyla.htm
Where S-t T occurs, the [Common] Treecreeper is largely confined to upland and mountain forests (hence in France its occurrence in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Massif Central).
In areas where both occur (parts of France and Germany, etc), distinguishing the two is a really, really tough job!
Resin
Right Resin. I always doubt that my unidentified birds are migrants since I've never seen one in all my years of birding unless a professional tells me where to go. Very low statistical chance I ever will see one on my own! LOL. Interesting about that spot of France. We have scrubjays in small pockets in Florida and tons on the west coast. I believe you need to look into historical events to find out why the populations separated (mountain ranges, climate changes, etc.)
We cross posted, Resin. Very interesting info!
Hi Boojum,
Worth adding that your Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) is so similar to Treecreeper that in the past it was just listed as a subspecies of it (as Certhia familiaris americana). If one ever managed to get across the Atlantic, it would be even harder to distinguish than Short-toed Treecreeper.
Resin
Aha. So even if there was a migrant, we wouldn't detect it!!
Hi Janet, Nice pictures of the Treecreeper. They come into our garden occasionally, but don't usually stay long enough for me to get a photo. It is funny how they only seem to creep up the tree, never downwards. I usually see them on the oak trees in our local wood, I suppose they like all the nooks and crannies hiding the huge variety of insects that oaks support.
Hi Pat, I was lucky, I got these through my front window on zoom! It did stay for quite some time and yes they do go up, drop to the bottom and spiral upwards again. One of the web sites said they go to another tree, but this one just kept going back up this oak.
It did go upside down along one of the branches, there must be some juicy bugs there as the woodpecker did the same, but it seems to have disappeared after weeks of rat-a-tatting from the early hours!
Interesting birds these treecreepers.
The only one I have seen was in my brothers garden, but he has many trees, also quite old ones, and he lives on the countryside.
That oak looks monumental Wallaby! How old is it ?
Hi Bonitin,
Yours would be Short-toed Treecreeper (Grimpereau des jardins / Boomkruiper) in northern Belgium
Resin
I don't know how old the tree is bonitin, but there are several of them along the roadside here. It has been bared around the roots at some time, I think levelled for the house which was built well in excess of 100 years ago, and there has probalby been a dwelling here for a lot longer than that.
The level is lower than on the other side of the water drain, and I have a bank where it looks to have been pushed to. It does look precariously balanced, I would hate it to fall down.
There is one next to my neighbour which I think she has said is 400 years old, the others look healthier so I think mine has suffered with being exposed.
That's right Resin; the popular name for it in Flanders is the 'boomkruiper'.
Around 400 years is a very respectful age for an oak, Wallaby. The UK is known over here as the country with the biggest amount of very old and beautiful trees.
My brother did a special tour for only that purpose in England.
But I can imagine that you are concerned for the one which has been bared around the roots, being a potential threat for your house. I'm sure there must be tree specialists who could estimate the state of the tree and in how far it could be a danger for it to fall.
A healthy, 400 year old oak would be very large, I'd expect a diameter of about 3 metres (= girth 9 metres). I'd be very surprised if it is as old as claimed (one always has to be very sceptical of claimed tree ages . . . they are usually much less than people like to think!).
That's right Resin; the popular name for it in Flanders is the 'boomkruiper'.
I was stood by the kichen sink a few days ago, there was a sudden scraping on the window. A baby Mistle Thrush had landed, so bight in colour, it looked at me, I looked at it, ran to get the camera, darn it was plugged into the charger.
I managed a very poor shot before it flew, good shot of the cacti though, just ignore the dust on those huge thorns, how do people take the time to remove dust on thorns like that!
It's breast was almost yellow with large dark spots, it hardly had any tail feathers but could fly quite well.
This was 10 days ago, some budgie food which he wouldn't eat was ver popular with the birds. I stood at the back door a short distance away and this Dunnock took no notice, but it had babies to feed.
Seed in the beak,
Two days ago I heard a little cheep cheep near the back wall, this little baby scuttered up the bank. I didn't want to scare it too much, it wasn't very frightened but faced with a camera must have been scary. Not as scary as my old Mitsi cat, she doesn't go out much now but I had to put her inside.
You can just see an eye and part of the beak, which was still a baby beak. It's breast was well speckled the same as it's back but I imagine that will alter.
Look at those lovely feathers, it still had baby fluff sticking out in places.
On the run, then it flew, not very high but it's feathers are still immature. It was sat near me later while I potted plants, I hope the neighbours cats didn't get it, they are so innocent for a start.
As dry as it's been the birds still have to find food in the ground to feed their young, we have had a couple of small showers yesterday and today but not enough to measure in the rain gauge.
I was in the garden with my camera, this female blackbird took no notice. She appears in the morning as soon as I open the door looking for cat food when I feed Straypuss but he doesn't always appear so I throw them any I have left inside. The pair of them ganged up on Straypuss one day, the male went in front of his face trying to scare him off the food! Luckily he takes no notice.
She was listening to the ground with her head cocked, must be able to hear the chafer grubs chewing roots. They are large grubs, curled around, this one is or was almost mature, she pecks away until she gets it. She ran off briefly to feed a baby and returned to try again.
Grub in mouth
She found one of those long brown beetles, it took me a while to see it.
She was only about 3' from me, it was as though I wasn't there, but she must trust me. Concentrating.....
Wallaby, Mistle Thrushes and blackbirds are great musicians! You must be privileged with loads of beautiful songs and free concerts!
I only have the Blackbird, but he gives so much joy with his enthousiastic creative improvisations that I even forgive him waken me up at 'inhuman' times of the day like lets say 4-5am.
I guess we get used to having these around, the Mistle Thrushes seem to be quiet while they have young around, but they could be singing in the early hours and I wouldn't hear it.
Today the blackbirds didn't appear when I opened the door but did later when Straypuss came for his food, they know when they are likely to get food. He didn't want very much, but the blackbirds were getting impatient.
Last year I was taking pics from the window when they tried to get the food, today I decided they weren't going to take any notice of me anyway so I went outside with the camera. They ignored me as usual, and between them were surrounding Straypuss. I wanted to see them dart in to take food but he went too soon!
