03 | February | 2013 | Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller

Well, I won’t say that I actually chased it. I don’t “chase” birds in the true sense of the word, as I don’t like to hassle them. Perhaps, in this instance, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), was actually harrassing me. He sure was being evasive. This was one time that I really felt I worked hard for the results that I got.

I had pulled my vehicle up close to some dense brush as I had seen movement in there. With my binoculars I could see him flitting around and stopping for a second or two on different twigs. At that point I was about 15 feet away from him. After several exposures, mostly on manual focus, because the surrounding leave and twigs were making it difficult to use auto-focus, I decided to chance slowly getting out of the car and moving closer.

I moved ever so slowly and eventually I was on my knees on the ground and I was only about 7 feet away. The end of my 100-400mm zoom lens was nearly touching the branches of the bush. I took several shots, then backed away. The kinglet gradually made it towards me, outside of the brush and near a wire fence. Here are the photos in the order that I shot them. These are just 4 out of about 60 exposures. I hope you like them.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

As you can see, I got lucky again, being able to catch the red patch that usually is nearly invisible. The more I practice the luckier I get. Click on any image to see an enlargement.