About those Ruby-crowned Kinglets

It has been a long time since I have written about the Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  I tried to see some yesterday morning but they were not to be found.  So I am going to write about them anyway.  These photos were taken about a year ago, and I took them from my archives.  They are tiny birds.  They flit around in thick underbrush.  They think they can hide from my long lens.  To actually get the images showing the ruby colored spot on the head of the male was a bonus.  It is usually concealed.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

In actuality, I was only about 25 feet away from him, sitting in my car/blind.   At the Cottonwood Campground in Big Bend National Park there is an area along the boundary of the area where there is fence that is partly obscured by thick vines and brush.  I brought my car close and drove very, very slowly at a silent idling speed along the area.  I was constantly looking into the brush with my binoculars.

We finally noticed a lot activity in the dense foliage.  We stopped and silently watched the kinglets and some other sparrow types hassling  each other.  I had my Canon EOS 7D with a 100-400mm zoom lens at the ready.  I spotted one kinglet throught the viewfinder and tracked him through branches, trying to catch him at a brief stop.  That is the only way one is going to get a photograph.  To make it easier, I set the focus so I was using only one center focus point.  Otherwise, the lens goes wild trying to get the bird in focus between the vines and twigs.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Enjoy the photos and click on any of them to see enlargements.

On the subject of birding, Ann and I are on a quest to see at least 210 birds this year.  Our previous annual record is 194 and we feel that if we stay alert we can get to our new goal.  We are off to a good start.  Here is our list for the first four days of the new year.  I will update you as we go. 41 is our current total.

1. Mute Swan
2. Gadwell
3. American Wigeon
4. Mallard
5. Northern Shoveler
6. Redhead
7. Ring-necked Duck
8. Lesser Scaup
9. Bufflehead
10. Hooded Merganser
11. Pied-billed Grebe
12. Eared Grebe
13. Double-crested Cormorant
14. Great Blue Heron
15. Great Egret
16. Black Vulture
17. Osprey
18. Red-tailed Hawk
19. American Coot
20. Killdeer
21. Ring-billed Gull
22. White-winged Dove
23. Great-horned Owl
24. Golden-fronted Woodpecker
25. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
26. Eastern Phoebe
27. Vermilion Flycatcher
28. Black-crested Titmouse
29. Eastern Bluebird
30. Western Bluebird
31. Northern Mockingbird
32. Curve-billed Thrasher
33. European Starling
34. Yellow-rumped Warbler
35. White-crowned Sparrow
36. Northern Cardinal
37. Western Meadowlark
38. Common Grackle
39. Great-tailed Grackle
40. House Finch
41. House Sparrow