Brown Creeper creeping up a pole

Yep, that is exactly what it sounds like - check out this Brown Creeper I caught creeping up a telephone pole.

Why would it be doing that you ask? Because this was outside the main building at Stratford Point, an area devoid of all but a few trees. If it moved back towards the south side it could visit a lot of different woody vegetation along Prospect Drive on the Stratford Point property and in neighboring areas. However, this is still a bit inadequate for all of the birds that use the property as a stopover site during migration.

Increasing the diversity and availability of trees and shrubs on Stratford Point is also why Sacred Heart University's Biology Department joined Connecticut Audubon Society staff at Stratford Point in planting almost 100 native trees and shrubs, acquired through funding from the Connecticut Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership and the Connecticut Ornithological Association, in spring 2012. You can see more of that work from last May in this entry. The vegetation's placement in the site's upland is an effort to enhance the coastal habitat and provide food, shelter and other resources for local wildlife, primarily migrant and wintering birds. In 10 years birds like that Brown Creeper will hardly recognize the place.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo by Scott Kruitbosch © Connecticut Audubon Society and not to be reproduced without explicit CAS permission