Sunday, October 24, 2010

Petty kings

If only I'd gotten this hairdo...

combined with this expression!

: )

(I can't stop giggling at this pic!)

I wandered around Sandy Hook hoping for my first Brant of the season, but found none, despite they're being "in" already. Instead I spent the afternoon kicking up Golden Crowned Kinglets from the grass at my feet... such endearing little birds once you get eye level with them.

Eye level to a kinglet today meant parking myself in a sunny spot in the grass where they were feeding and waiting for them to come close enough... which garnered many a curious glance as I focused my lens at nothing very obvious to most people passing by.

It strikes me that bird photography, by necessity, is a solitary pursuit...

The post title refers to a translation of the genus name Regulus to which the kinglets belong; historical names include Flame-crest and Fiery-crowned Wren. The orange patch is only visible when a bird is excited or challenged by another. I think that's what the show was about in that top photo, as two birds were feeding very close together at the base of the tree.

12 comments:

MevetS said...

Sweet shots. My kinglets are mostly blurs.

I'm quite envious.

I'll have to try the lying in the grass technique. I wonder if I can get my tripod that low?

:-)

LauraHinNJ said...

Well... you know what I say about tripods and the people who use them...

; )

Beth in NYC said...

Great shots of kinglets! They're so hard to capture! I'm a non-tripod person if I can help it. ;-) And, yes, unless I'm with another bird photographer who can be as patient as I am in the field, photographing birds is definitely a solitary pursuit.

Bill S. said...

Great pictures of these beautiful little birds. It has been tough for me to get any good pictures of them.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots, Laura. I see them in the woods here, but have never seen them in the grass or even the back field.

MojoMan said...

Great shots, Laura! Like Sandy, I always think of kinglets as being in trees and would never (until now) think of looking for them on the ground.

g beetham said...

There were a lot of Brants at Barnegat Light on Sunday.

NCmountainwoman said...

What wonderful shots!!! Those little things are so quick. Perfect expression. You must have been very patient that day.

LauraHinNJ said...

You all have made me sort of curious about the feeding habits of GC Kinglets...

I mostly remember seeing them this way... feeding in the grass... on warm fall days. Maybe just gnats (?) that are encouraged by an Indian Summer day?

Anyone?

LauraHinNJ said...

g beetham: thank you for that... I know they're around, but not yet in the local places I expect them. Heading to Cape May this weekend... probably along the causeway to the seawatch!

(tho sighting them will mean winter is on its way)

: (

LauraHinNJ said...

Saw a Brant this morning... so winter will officially happen, I guess.

: (

MevetS said...

Let it snow, ... (I love winter!)

I've always seen kinglets in the trees, never on the ground. Perhaps because I don't expect to see them there? But your observations would indicate that they go where the insects are.