Is what Treecreepers do well.
If it was not for the visible hint of white breast plumage this bird would be hardly detectable as it climbed jerkily up the trunk of this tree.
Silhouettes and their flitting movement helps to locate these birds in the first place, but otherwise they would be pretty anonymous.
With the trees now virtually free of foliage this time of year is excellent for firstly locating Treecreepers and secondly photographing them.
Apart from hearing their high pitched contact calls I find that the best way of finding them in mature woodland is to stand in a position where you can see twenty of thirty well separated trees with exposed trunks particularly at their base.
Generally Treecreepers will fly down to the base of a tree to start their corkscrewing ascent, in flight their white underparts show very well and its relatively easy to pick them up as they flit from tree to tree.
After an early and very misty start yesterday the sun eventually burned through the grey overcast skies and illuminated the woodlands.
It was a classic habitat for Treecreepers and sure enough after a period of observation this little chap showed, corkscrewing around the trunks of a number of trees as he climbed upwards with typical jerky movements..
Lovely bird.
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.
