NeoVista Birds and Wildlife: "Hey! Over Here!", Said the Ruby-crowned Kinglets

Three years ago on December 13th (thank you eBird for easy record keeping) I knocked on my friend's front door and then glanced at a small shrub as I waited for someone to come to the door. It was winter and snow was falling gently. The nearby mountains and foothills had been covered in snow for a few days. I just happened to look at the right shrub at the right time to see a very small bird flitting its wings and moving nervously through the interior of the shrub, just inches off the ground next to me. When it jumped from one small shrub to another I got a glimpse of a bird I had never seen before. I made some mental notes, visited briefly with my friend on his doorstep, and then went home quickly to search for the ID of the tiny little bird in my only field guide at the time. I was looking for a tiny but stocky greenish bird, with a narrow, pointed bill, white around the eye, and white stripes in the wings. I also heard it make a harsh "chit, chit" sound several times as it moved about so I could use that as an identifier as well. I had begun my birding in earnest only a couple months earlier so life birds (ones I was seeing, or at least noticing, for the first time) were popping up regularly, especially as the seasons changed and winter pushed some birds from the north and down from the local mountains. I discovered that I had just observed life bird #56 (at least since I started recording my sightings in eBird several years ago)--a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet on River Lane near Palmyra, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are about 4.5 or so inches long and packed with loads of nervous energy. I learned that well the first time I tried to photograph one. They do not hold still. The one above provides a nice profile and shows typical field marks like the ones I observed with my first one, but I also like how the image shows its brown feet contrasting with its black legs. They are common in wooded areas, range from north in Alaska and all over Canada during the summer to the southern states and into Mexico in the winter. They are present year round in Utah so I hear and see them often. They come foraging for food around valley homes in the winter like the one I first discovered. I heard one "chit, chitting" yesterday from a pine tree as I walked up to my office building for work, prompting today's post. I kind of felt like there was more to see of Kinglets after my first encounter because I didn't see a ruby crown at the time.

Last December, almost like an annual winter tradition, I found myself following a small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets through Tonaquint Park in St George, Utah. One bird in particular was cooperative and displayed his ruby crown.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (with crown revealed) at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (with crown and proud little chest revealed) at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT
(Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (with crown revealed) at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

As I was photographing the cooperative Kinglet above I found myself ignoring the mobbing sounds of other Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Black-capped Chickadees. There seems to be something about naming these small birds after things on their heads. Based on my experience with them I could lump them in a group called "the owl finders." I turned from my cooperative subject after getting what I thought would be some nice images and realized that the other kinglets and chickadees had located a roosting Western Screech Owl for me. The owl was snug against the trunk of a pine tree, standing on alert as a result of being harassed by all the little guys. This was not a regular roost because there was no wash (typical white owl poo) or pellets present below the roost. The image below gives a feel for how well hidden the owl was at the time. I probably never would have noticed the owl if the tiny little birds, especially the kinglets, didn't start squawking at it so loudly and flying all around it as if to say, "Hey, camera guy! Over here! Look at this one!"