Winter birding can be "easy" birding because you don't have foliage to hide the birds. Granted the birds are fewer this time of year, and their plumage isn't generally as brilliant, but we do have some birds here in winter that don't stay here in the warmer seasons. The Dark-eyed Junco and the White-throated Sparrow as well as the more elusive Golden-crowned Kinglet are our winter visitors. But a smaller bird that we have seen in our back yard hopping up the oak trees is the Brown Creeper.
Winter is a great time to spot this 5 inch long bird. They spiral up the trunks of the biggest tree they can find, probing in the bark for tasty insect larvae. They always move with their head up, unlike the White-breasted Nuthatch which prefers to glean food while going headfirst down the tree. The Brown Creeper is solitary and you won't find them in flocks. So keep your attention on the tree trunks and if you see movement it may very well be a Brown Creeper!
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