Thursday 24 July 2014

The '' tree mouse ''.

Before I took up bird photography I thought I was an observant person, nowadays I see so much more during my walks through the countryside than was the case previously.

Sauntering along the fringes of the woodlands at nearby Grafton Underwood I caught a fleeting glimpse of a flash of white in flight in my peripheral vision, a bird landed on the far side of a tree low down near its roots.  

A silhouette came into view  spiralling its way up the trunk of the tree in short jerky movements ..... a Treecreeper.

As it It made its way upwards it was probing the bark constantly with its needle like down-curved beak using its stiff pointed tail feathers as a '' lever '' to press against the tree for support as its claws gripped the rough textured wood  ......  hyper active and rarely still it is a difficult bird to get a clear image of. 

The underparts of the bird are white, its upperparts are mottled and barred brown which make a very effective camouflage.

When it had finished its climb to the top of the tree it flew down to the base of a nearby tree and started the process all over again.

It is not a rare bird but very easily overlooked.



                                                                   

2 comments:

  1. So true I often wonder how many birds I missed before I took an interest in birds.

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  2. Its amazing Douglas .......................

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