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year, I told Ted of the sighting. He rather dismissed the incident with an 
attitude of “You must be seeing things.” I was sure of what I had seen, 
but was also sure it meant nothing. I too, dismissed the incident from my 
mind, well — almost. 
During the ensuing week, however, the question: “What IS that creeper 
doing here at this time of year?” aroused my curiosity. I decided to in- 
vestigate further. Returning to the spot, I immediately saw not one, but two 
creepers, and they were carrying food (see illustration). There are many 
dead elms in the refuge, and in one of these I found the nest. It was eight 
feet from the ground, and the tree diameter at this point was fourteen 
inches. To get to the nest, it was necessary to cross a narrow channel. 
Stripping off my clothing, I waded across. Although there was only about 
a foot of water, there was at least that much gooey mud underneath. I knew 
by the frequency of the visits that the young were nearly fledged. The nest 
was in the traditional site, between loose bark and the tree trunk. Ted and I 
wanted to photograph the birds at the nest, and as we had no equipment 
with us, we had to return home. We wasted no time. 
Along the levee were thousands of small millers, or moths, and the 
creepers were feeding these to the young. It was a beautiful, clear day, with 
a barely perceptible breeze from the south. I placed a blind in position and 
entered with the camera. I had not long to wait, as the Creepers were feed- 
ing the young every few minutes. So active were they that it was almost 
impossible to keep them in view long enough to snap the shutter. By pre- 
determining the probable alighting place, I finally achieved success. We 
also hoped to get pictures of the young in the nest, but a short ladder was 
needed. Early the next day we found the young still in the nest. To get 
pictures of them, it would be necessary to open the entrance a little. Trying 
to do this, we learned that we were too late. As soon as we disturbed the 
nest only slightly, the young crawled out of the nest and hid between more 
loose bark. Some passable camera records were obtained with the flashgun. 
We searched available literature for references regarding the Brown 
Creeper in Illinois. From Bent’s Life Histories of North American Nut- 
hatches, Wrens, Thrashers and Their Allies, page 61, we read: “In addition 
to such fortuitous nesting sites as those mentioned above, there are other 
stations far to the south of the creeper’s normal breeding range where 
the bird finds surroundings adapted to its nesting requirements .. .” 
In the “Field Museum of Natural History: Zoology,” Vol. IX, quoting 
from Birds of Illinois and Wisconsin, page 694, Cory says: “A record of a 
pair breeding on an island in the Mississippi river below Davenport, Iowa.’ 
(Wilson Bull., 1906, page 10). This report, of course, from Iowa. 
In Birds of the Chicago Region, Edward R. Ford, page 63, stated: ‘The 
Brown Creeper, a common migrant ... known to nest in Cook county .. .” 
this apparently is not documented. Finally, in the Illinois State Laboratory 
of Natural History, Bulletin #4, page 173, Ridgway says: “Chiefly transient 
... possibly breeding northward.” 
We are not claiming this as a “first” in Illinois, but in view of the pre- 
ceding references, we would like more information. 
Joy, Illinois 61620 
a a at a 
