I rarely get such an intimate look at a kinglet.
1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This is an older photo taken at the base of west desert mountains almost exactly three years ago on October 7, 2017. On that morning I saw more kinglets in one place than I’ve ever seen before or since. They were migrating and they seemed to be almost everywhere I looked but that doesn’t mean they were easy to photograph. After all they were kinglets so they never seemed to stay in the same place or hold still for more than a microsecond.
Somehow I managed to get this one in my viewfinder before ‘she’ took off. I like the fall colors of both perch and background and she gave me a perfect head turn considering the angle of light and her pose. I rarely get such an intimate look at this species.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are one of our smallest songbirds. For the sake of comparison House Sparrows weigh five times as much as kinglets (5.5 grams versus 28 grams). But the tiny female kinglet lays as many as 12 eggs – the largest clutch of any North American passerine for its size.
I find that hard to imagine but then kinglets are pretty amazing little birds in a lot of ways.
Ron
I have Kinglets in my yard and can never get a good view as they are so reclusive. Thank you for this amazing photo, Ron!
I haven’t commented lately…
butt following your photos is always amazing to me. & this photo is amazing!
“Thank you” for sharing & take care.
Good to ‘see’ you again, CJ. Thanks.
I wonder if your photo is showing such good detail that we are seeing, as BotW describes it, the “Rictal commissure orange to yellowish orange…”
Love the way the feet are vertical on the branch.
Am I seeing just a peek of the crown patch?
Lyle, I looked carefully for a hint of the crown patch but these old eyes aren’t seeing it. I got it in other kinglets that morning but not this one so maybe ‘she’ really is a female. Or maybe not.
That is a very beautiful photo. I hope I get a few in my yard again this winter.
Thank you, April. I hope you do too.
Wonderful photo.
Thanks, Jean.
TWELVE eggs??? Even with the assistance of the male that is a huge challenge.
I am so glad that she stopped long enough for you to take her portrait.
“TWELVE eggs???”
Kinda gets your attention doesn’t it, EC. Those numbers are more like precocial birds rather than an altricial bird.
Am I hearing you correctly? They are altricial? I do hope that they grow and seek their independence fast. Very fast.
Yup, they’re altricial. They’re the size of a bumblebee when they hatch and they’re completely helpless.
Gah. Respect and awe for the parents.
Holy cow! There must be some huge survival pressures on these little guys to have so many helpless chicks at once. Those poor parents!
Something very endearing about this shot. Definitely one of my favs.
Question – what kind of tree is she perched on?
Jamila, the bush she’s perched on is a sumac.
What a beauty! You definitely get extra degree of difficulty points for this shot, Ron.
And thank you for the education this morning. I had no idea their clutches were so large. That’s a lot of kids to wrangle and feed.
“That’s a lot of kids to wrangle and feed”.
The male feeds mom during incubation and both parents feed the kids so that helps. Thanks, Marty.
Wow! The detail is amazing. The small touches of rust at the base of the beak…just wow
Arwen, I wondered if that rusty color was food stains. They do eat small amounts of fruit and other vegetable matter.
Beautiful! 😀 Getting one to stick it’s head out let alone holding still long enough to capture a photo IS a challenge…..beautiful setting……😀
It sure IS a challenge. Thanks, Judy.
That is a really pretty photo. And yes, they like so many of the really small birds are hard to photograph. Had no idea they could lay up to 12 eggs. Thanks for the education.
Thank you, Everett.
Pure perfection! Love those colors. Also like that ‘speed number’…but then a perfect picture.😍 This does not happen very often.
Thanks, Kathy. Yup I had more than enough shutter speed but as usual I was after takeoff and flight shots so with these little speedsters too much is better than too little.