Birds that climb tree trunks in UK gardens

A bird working its way along a trunk is usually a nuthatch — the only UK bird that climbs head-first downwards — or a great spotted woodpecker, which hitches upwards in short jerks using its tail as a prop.

2 of the 30 birds on this site fit. Each one links to its full page, with what separates it from the ones it gets mistaken for.

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  Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Blackbird-sized, pied, with red under the tail. Male has a red nape patch; the juvenile's whole crown is red, which fools everyone.

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  Nuthatch

  A compact blue-grey woodland bird with a black eye-stripe, and the only UK bird that climbs head-first down a tree trunk.

Not here? Describe what you saw — the identifier ranks every garden bird rather than filtering them out, so it will not hide yours.