Wait, Why Are They Called "Ruby-crowned" Kinglets?

Want a challenge? Try to photograph a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). They are brazen little birds, willing to get right in your face if you intrude into their territory, but they never seem to stop moving.

Want a real challenge? Try and capture why they are called "Ruby-crowned" Kinglets. The males have a red patch on their head, and if they are really upset about something, it can be raised, but that happens rarely in my experiences so far. But today I managed to catch a couple of shots so you'll know what to look for on your own attempts!

 

I Wonder Why They Call Them That? The Ruby-crowned Kinglets of the Tuolumne River

Every so often I have to post some pictures of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), mostly out of a sense of accomplishment for having captured them at all. They are one of the most active birds I ever encounter on my strolls along the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail.

They range widely across the North America from the southern reaches of Mexico to the extreme north of the Arctic in Canada and Alaska. They winter in our region, and I see several every time I walk. But one thing I don't usually see is...a ruby crown.

It's pretty much the only difference between the males, who have it, and the females who don't. And the males almost always keep it hidden. They have to be excited about something, mainly during the breeding season in spring and summer. So here in winter, I don't see much ruby...

A few days ago, one was really upset with me for one reason or another and was flying circles around me and displaying some color. I took a lot of pictures, and finally got a couple of usable shots.

I don't know if these birds have emotions as such (the Corvids certainly seem to), but this one was rather expressive, an effect highlighted by the white patches around their eyes. Now that I have the ruby crown in pictures, I'll have to work all the harder to catch the crown lifted up.

Now, if I could only figure out why they call its close relative the Golden-crowned Kinglet...

A Hard Bird to Catch: Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Tuolumne River

I look back on my half-dozen posts showing the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), and in practically all of them I complain about the difficulty of capturing their picture because the birds don't hold still very often. They don't stop moving. That was true today as well. I've been seeing the kinglets for a week or so during my walks on the Tuolumne River, but I have had little luck capturing any pictures.

I was a bit luckier today, getting two usable shots out of twenty attempts. I'm guessing this is a female because it doesn't seem to have the "ruby" crown, although the crown can be hard to see in the males as well except maybe in breeding season. The birds aren't around here in summer...they head north or up into the Sierra Nevada for breeding. Their return is one of many harbingers of the coming winter.

Just because I posted these pictures today, I'll probably see a male with a ruby crown tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is one of the best shots I ever got of the crown, taken in February of 2018.

Out of the Way-Back Machine: A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet with a Ruby Crown

Sometimes you just forget. One of the joys of digital photography (after 18 years it still feels new and innovative; yes, I'm old) is that you can take hundreds of lousy pictures, find that one lucky wonderful shot, and post that one because it makes you look like a photographer. And it doesn't cost as much as paper prints. But when you have tens of thousands of pictures in the files, it's easy to forget just how lucky you got at one point. And so it is with today's offering, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), a picture I took back in February of 2014.

During the right time of year I'll see Ruby-crowned Kinglets almost every time I walk along the Tuolumne River, but they are very active and hard to photograph. The ruby crown is even harder to see and photograph because it is only on the males, and it is usually hidden. I was going over some if the first pictures I took with my Lumix camera and came across this shot of a kinglet displaying the crown, and I realized that I had forgotten about it and had never posted it here on the blog. So...here it is! One of my favorite shots of this "royal" kinglet.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Tuolumne River...with a Ruby Crown!

Little birds are hard to photograph. It's just that simple. It seems the smaller they are the more active they are (think hummingbirds). Well, here's a bird that is barely bigger than a hummingbird, and although it is common in the bushes along the Tuolumne River, it's harder than heck to get good shots. It's called a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), and I have wasted loads of digital space trying to get decent pictures. I salute anyone who got great pictures of these birds in the days of photographic film!

I got tempted into trying to get a shot once again on my river walk today, and the results were the same as always, blurry or nothing at all. Then the impossible happened...the bird paused. Even though we were in the shadows, I got a few shots in focus and up close. The bonus was that it was a male, and I got a half decent shot of the usually hidden "ruby crown". The red feathers are most often displayed during the breeding season when the male is showing off.

Next time? Let's do this in the sunshine!

The Elusive Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Tuolumne River

When I say "elusive", I don't mean rare. I see Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) quite often when I hike the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail where the river flows from the Sierra Nevada foothills onto the floor of the Great Valley in Waterford. The elusiveness comes from the difficulty of actually catching the diminutive but very active bird on digital media. These little birds never stop moving. Ever. The moment I get the camera focused, the bird is already in the next bush.

It took me two days to get these two shots. I hiked the river twice in the last two days, and saw these birds (or single bird twice) in bushes about fifty yards from each other. The bird didn't seem too concerned about me, but it was hungry and stayed on the move. I finally got lucky when I started to anticipate where the bird would land next and had the camera focused on that spot. I think the picture above is my best so far (compare to my others here; you be the judge!). The one below was the best from my efforts yesterday.

In case it's not clear (and it isn't in these pictures), there are red/ruby colored feathers on the head of the males. They are usually folded down and not easily visible, except during the breeding season. The birds don't weigh even an ounce, and their eggs are also small...50 of them would add up to a single ounce. There will be up to a dozen eggs in a brood. Mama must be very tired...

Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail

Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) are common enough birds no doubt, but for this amateur birder, they are pretty rare. I depend on pictures for the identification of the small birds that flit rapidly through the underbrush, and the Kinglet rarely stays still enough for sharp pictures. Today, one of them cooperated with me for a few moments. I was on my customary exploration of the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail and caught a few shots. It helped that a lot of the leaves in the shrubbery have fallen.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Tuolumne River

Work slowed a bit on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail in Waterford a bit last week, and for a fairly good reason. It was pouring rain! We picked up more than two inches in the last two weeks, nearly 20% of a complete water year. In other words, the rainy season is off to a good start. I hope it continues.

I took a careful walk earlier in the week, finding that portions of the trail were underwater. I saw several interesting birds, including a Northern Flicker, and a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk. I also saw, for a split second, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). I managed a single photograph before it flew away. I've seen them in the area a few times, but they move fast through the underbrush, so I was probably lucky to get the picture I did.