Brown Creeper
(Certhia americana)

Overview

Summary

© Dan Busby
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Populations of this common and widespread, although inconspicuous, species of mature coniferous and mixed forests have increased in Canada since 1970 according to results from the Breeding Bird Survey. Populations were likely higher prior to the European settlement period due to the wider availability of extensive stands of mature forest (Hejl et al. 2002). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

There are currently few major conservation concerns for this species. Although survey data are insufficient to determine regional population trends, conservation concerns in regions with intensive forest management activities include loss of mature and old forest stands and the specific structural attributes associated with these stands that are used by Brown Creepers for foraging and nesting.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Hejl, S.J., K.R. Newlon, M.E. Mcfadzen, J.S. Young and C.K. Ghalambor. 2002. Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Hejl, S.J., K.R. Newlon, M.E. Mcfadzen, J.S. Young and C.K. Ghalambor. 2002. Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)