Welcome sight of treecreeper
A WEEKEND spent visiting a patch of bushland near Nagambie provided the welcome opportunity to re-acquaint myself with the brown treecreeper, a bird now rarely seen near Geelong.
Perhaps they were never plentiful, but there were always small numbers at the You Yangs and in the Brisbane Ranges.
Treecreepers spend a lot of time fossicking on the ground, where they find insects and spiders among the leaf litter.
Disturb them and they fly to the nearest tree, land on the trunk then climb up, usually on the opposite side to the observer.
They nest in stumps and tree-hollows, sometimes just a metre or two above the ground, lining the floor with wool and similar soft materials.
The call is a single, strident “splink” or a rattle of notes.
There was always a pair or two in the northwest corner of the You Yangs, nesting each spring in the stumps lift beside the eroded gullies.
Now they are rare, and in time will disappear altogether from the local environment.
They are not alone in this, for the woodland birds are becoming increasingly scarce right across Australia.
Land-clearing has isolated populations, and the removal of fallen logs and other natural litter is depriving them of living space.
Isolation too is a major issue for as each small population loses contact with others, it becomes inbred and eventually disappears.
Bushfires are another hazard as we witnessed when a fire ravaged part of the Brisbane Ranges about 10 years ago.
Treecreepers are not migratory, nor even nomadic, so the opportunity to rejuvenate each small population is nonexistent.
So it was good to see the treecreepers again, even though they were not in the local region. Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@optusnet.com.au