Guide

Look closerBirds

Brown creeper: the bird that climbs trunks from the bottom up

September to April

The brown creeper is a small streaky-brown bird that looks like a piece of bark and climbs a tree trunk from the bottom up. When it reaches the top it flutters down to the base of the next tree and starts climbing again.

Why this time of year

Creepers live in eastern Massachusetts all year, turn up widely with fall migrants from early September, and in winter often roam the woods with chickadees and nuthatches.

How to notice it

  1. Stand at the edge of a woods or a shady yard with mature trees and scan the trunks slowly, from the base upward. Look for a bit of 'bark' that moves.
  2. Watch for a small bird that starts low on a trunk and climbs in a spiral, stopping to peck into bark crevices.
  3. When it reaches the top, watch for it to flutter down to the base of a nearby tree and begin climbing again.
  4. If you see chickadees or nuthatches working through the trees, check the trunks near them.

Try this with kids: Can you spot a piece of bark that climbs? Count how many trees it climbs before it flies away.

Sources

  • audubon.orgAudubon field guide: reaching the top of one tree it flutters down to the base of another to begin spiraling up again; climbs slowly with tail braced against the surface.
  • birdobserver.orgBird Observer: MA status uncommon resident, uncommon to common migrant; starts at the bottom of a tree and spirals up; stiff tail as a prop; in winter frequently joins mixed-species foraging flocks.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon BBA1: present year-round; arrives with southbound passerines in early September; in winter roams forests with troops of chickadees and nuthatches.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon BBA2: climbs tree trunks foraging, pecking and probing for invertebrate prey.

Checked against these sources on October 20, 2026.

In the guide for September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April

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