Golden-crowned Kinglet

The Golden-crowned Kinglets have been enjoying the spruce tree in my yard.

Several were feeding at a lower level, so I grabbed my camera and waited.

I got lucky enough to get this one shot before it disappeared.  These guys are such a challenge to photograph.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglets were feeding in my Pin Oak tree in my front yard. They weren't showing their ruby crown, but they are still cute. These tiny birds barely sit still, so it is satisfying to get a focused picture. These guys weight just slightly more than a quarter. Or to put it another way, it would take twelve Ruby-crowns to balance out an American Robin on a teeter-tooter.

Golden Crowns

I was walking along the top of a hill in a beautiful autumn woods last week when suddenly I came upon a whirl of bird activity. There were chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches; but primarily the activity was from Golden-crowned Kinglets. I have been frequently hearing, and sometimes seeing them around in the last month or so, but usually I do not get a chance to look at them from above. The many almost-focused pictures of the bird on the top would have been gorgeous, the way he was displaying.

Great Basin Birds part 1

Here is an assorted collection of bird photos from my travels in Nevada (and just across the border in Utah).

Ruby-crowned Kinglet
I hold kinglet pictures to a different standard than other bird pictures. Kinglets are shy, but they never sit still on an exposed perch. I was very happy to get one that actually captured its ruby crown.

Horned Lark
Horned Larks might be the most common bird in the valley right now. They certainly had that distinction in March and April. Now Brewer's Sparrows might have edged them out. This lark posed for me with the mountains for a backdrop.

Western Kingbird
This guy was sitting on the fence that marked the border between Nevada and Utah. I still haven't seen a kingbird entirely in Nevada. There were several in Garrison, UT, on the way back.

Western Grebe
I managed to get pretty close to a flotilla of grebes on Pruess Lake, south of Garrison, UT.

Long-billed Curlew
This was one bird species I really wanted to see while out in Nevada. One flew overhead on my first trip out, but I did not get good looks until this trip. Many were feeding in a cattle pasture near Ruby Lake. This lone bird was feeding in an upland field just outside of the national park.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

I had to post this picture just because of the challenge it represented. Kinglets don't sit still for any time longer than 0.5 seconds. This one didn't either, I just got lucky. Joy and I were at Southeastway park, and a flock of Kinglets just seemed completely unconcerned with us as they moved through feeding. Very cool.