The Return of the Kinglets

January 9, 2022

Golden-crowned kinglet moves to a rhythm only she can hear. Up, down, responding to the call of a tiny berry or a little bug. In, out, around the edge. Unafraid, her quick movements protect her from predators. Her range is vast, from the top of the tree to the innermost branches of smallest bush. A huge world for a tiny bird. She has traveled far to her winter home. Here she will weather the winter with it’s cold nights and sunny days until the warming weather tells her to fly north again.

Golden-crowned kinglet

Ruby-crowned kinglet moves with deliberation and certainty. Rarely pausing but never hurried. That branch, this nook, sensing exactly where to look next. Finding tiny bugs only he can see among the berries and brush. He too has traveled far to this winter home.

Ruby-crowned kinglet

The kinglets move in, out and on the edges of the flocks of juncos, yellow-rumped warblers, cedar waxwings and robins. Unbothered by the photographer, they continue their dance.

The photographer waits for them each winter. She walks slowly looking for their quick movements among the branches and in the shadows. Sitting still, she waits patiently as they work their way around the bushes. They move closer then away then closer again. Sometimes when she’s lucky, they move into the light and give her a chance at a photo. She finds delight in their gravitas and the exceptional stare-down looks they occasionally throw her way.

Kinglets get their name from their well-concealed crown, hidden inside the feathers on top of their head. The crown doesn’t appear very often in winter, typically reserved for more territorial times like mating and defending nests. No crowns today, but the photographer knows she’s been in the presence of royalty none the less. She is blessed.