Treecreeper - Unusual Behaviour? (1 Viewer)

[pstraughan]

I'm lucky enough to have had a Treecreeper in my garden fairly regularly since the Autumn (maybe it was there in the Summer but hidden by leaves).
It usually frequents one of about half a dozen old trees - a fairly typical habitat. I have various feeders on some of the trees and the Treecreeper seems to be happy close to the feeding birds but never approaches the feeders - until today. It did its usual spiral up the trunk of a pear tree and then moved on to a fatball. I don't know if it ate anything but it certainly had a good probe and peck.

Treecreepers are one of the two birds that visit my garden that have never shown an interest in feeders. The other is the Green Woodpecker. Of course both are primarily insect eaters. Anyone else seen either of these two species eating seed, nuts, fatballs etc.?

Regards

Pat

 

[postcardcv]

Treecreepers are one of the two birds that visit my garden that have never shown an interest in feeders. The other is the Green Woodpecker. Of course both are primarily insect eaters. Anyone else seen either of these two species eating seed, nuts, fatballs etc.?

It's not unusual for treecreepers to be seen on nut feeders - it's thought thast they feed on insects between the nuts. Possibly the same is happening on the fat ball, small insects are getting into the holes other birds have made.

I have however never seen or heard of a green woodpecker on a feeder, though it probably happens.

 

[Sue Wright]

I'm lucky enough to have had a Treecreeper in my garden fairly regularly since the Autumn (maybe it was there in the Summer but hidden by leaves).
It usually frequents one of about half a dozen old trees - a fairly typical habitat. I have various feeders on some of the trees and the Treecreeper seems to be happy close to the feeding birds but never approaches the feeders - until today. It did its usual spiral up the trunk of a pear tree and then moved on to a fatball. I don't know if it ate anything but it certainly had a good probe and peck.

Treecreepers are one of the two birds that visit my garden that have never shown an interest in feeders. The other is the Green Woodpecker. Of course both are primarily insect eaters. Anyone else seen either of these two species eating seed, nuts, fatballs etc.?

Regards

Pat

Hi Pat,

Well done for you! A lot comes from winter and NOT having the leaves to clothe the branches - wonderful!! We've had Green Woodies anting very often on the lawn of our previous home, a Treecreeper in the garden too, but never either on a feeder, just the Treecreeper going all around the outside of the shed walls for Insects. I think any Birder would be shocked :eek!: to see a Green Woodie on a feeder, I certainly never have, but now I've said that what's the betting someone will have done!!! Good luck for their returns. Best wishes,

Sue

 

[PeterK]

Hi Pat I have to agree with all the postings so far, never seen a Green Woodie on a feeder or a Treecreeper, pity you did not investigate the fat ball, it was probably covered with insects getting their feed. But who knows birds like humans do have personal likes and dislikes perhaps your Treecreeper does like a bit of fat in its diet.

Yours Peter

 

[01101001]

Treecreeper

www.vinehousefarm.co.uk

According to this source, Eurasian Treecreepers will eat pine & spruce seeds and also peanuts. For the latter also compare:

around my place the hairy woodpeckers are often followed around by a brown tree creeper...the woodpeckers wedge a peanut in the tree bark and the creeper comes in behind it and cleans up ...i know you said it is sparrow like and the tree creeper is more nuthatch like...but wondering if it could be a possibility

Today I've witnessed a treecreeper sp. (Eurasian or Short-toed) on the ground foraging on what appeared to be small beige seeds--probably conifer seeds since this was under a tree bearing many small cones (but no needles, so it was a larch?) swarmed by Great Tits and Blue Tits.

 

[01101001]

Brown Creeper

Horizontal for a change, nibbling on some suet crumbs I had spread across this board.

www.birdforum.net

So it(s close relative) does eat suet!

 

[delia todd]

With a birding friend, we've started a new edge of town feeding station. This was back in the autumn of last year. With no real idea of what it might attract. So we put up a peanut feeder, tube seed feeder, fat balls and a coconut.

Anyway... Blue Tits soon moved in, followed by Great and Coal. Blackbird, Robin came too.

Then one day a few weeks ago I was sitting minding my own business, when I saw out of the corner of my eye, a movement on a tree and realised it was a Treecreeper heading up to the coconut. This particular one had mealworms in it. Within a week it was empty (what else assisted I'm not sure, as not much else eats from it while we're there LOL).

He took one look at the one I got him today (peanuts) and left disgusted. So replaced it with a mealworm one and took the peanut one to another feeding station LOL.

I've yet to catch it at any of the other feeders though.

 

[01101001]

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