Pictures: Teus Luijendijk

2 November 2003, Nes, Ameland Fr

2 November 2003, Nes, Ameland Fr

Usually every year, a few Treecreepers of the nominate subspecies can be seen in The Netherlands, especially on the isles in the North. They arrive (presumably from Scandinavia) late October/early November and may linger for some time, in a few cases for the whole winter. Although very similar to the native Short-toed Treecreeper C. brachydactyla, they can often be picked out by their much whiter appearance and more obvious white supercilium. When seen at close range, however, some more plumage details can be observed, as was the case with this bird. It was actually for the first time for me that I could very easily see the exact and distinctive pattern on the primary tips, wingbar and alula, without having to fall back on pictures taken.
We also heard the bird call on one occasion.