Tree Creepers

On the first day of Spring, officially, and the equinox, this morning I saw a Tree Creeper swiftly clambering high up into the Silver Birch, which commands our garden.

On the trunk is “Stumpy”, our wooden horse’s head, and I watched fascinated as this small bird adeptly negotiated him, whilst it rapidly ascended the tree, clinging onto the silver bark up into the height of the tree, gathering grubs as it went.

A species common to the UK and unthreatened, they are rarely seen due to their discreet colouring of brown and mottled white and grey, which blends into the bark of the trees they visit for foraging. TheTree Creepers scour the tree for grubs to feed their young, who even when fledged, will return to the nest to be fed for some days after leaving.

They possess extra large feet to grip onto the tree trunk and a stiff tail to support their ascendant exertions.

Normally, breeding begins in April, but judging by the birdsong here this morning, their offspring and a number of other birds have already fledged in this exceptionally early spring.

Clearly an adult scavenging for the young, I have noticed our Robins too with their mouths full of worms and relishing the newly mown lawn and turned over beds. The early morning chorus which surpasses Grieg’s “Morning” by a long way, is composed largely of the Robins, Blackbirds, and now I know the Tree Creeper, which like the Wren has surprisingly loud and sweet vocals for such a tiny bird. The sound swoops across the lawn in the early morning from around 5:30am, swelling to a crescendo around 6:15am, until dying down to the intermittent conversations I can hear now in the mid-morning.

Punctuated by the occasional swoop of the Nuthatch, and the celestial tones of the Robins, the chatter of the Great and Blue Tits, and the Blackbird’s infernal alarm cry, the Crows provide the harsh bass notes. The sound pictures conjured by the birds provide a beautiful backdrop and depth to the burgeoning spring garden.

We, I keep telling myself, are so lucky to be experiencing this at moment, rather than the horrid things they are going through in Ukraine. So when these birds give me pause for thought, then I say a little prayer for those less fortunate than ourselves.

More frequently heard than seen, I am happy to have discovered the composers of my early morning alarm calls! Moreover, to have such variety in the garden is true privilege indeed.