Two Golden-crowned Kinglets

This afternoon was bathed in the golden light that is the special grace of this time of year. The sun felt warm, under a soft blue sky veiled in high white clouds. Dry leaves swirled down in the wind. The weather is changing, with much cooler temperatures forecast for tonight.

Among a flurry of small birds in a thicket along the side of the road, a Hermit Thrush flew up from the ground to a low branch in a tree. It sat for several moments facing toward me, looking nervous and agitated, with head sharply raised. Its tail remained down, and it did not flick its wings or call. The restless shadows of branches rippled over the dark spots on its breast. After a few moments, it flew up to a higher branch, and then a higher one and out of sight.

Then two much smaller birds appeared in very low branches in the same tangled area – two tiny, beautiful Golden-crowned Kinglets with bright yellow crowns and black-and-white striped faces. Both were so close and clearly in view, crisply marked and vivid – the best views I have enjoyed of Golden-crowned Kinglets this season, though I’ve often heard their high, ti-ti-ti calls. Usually they’ve been much higher up in the trees, and difficult to see. Tiny gray birds with a round shape, short wings, and small white wing-bars, they moved very quickly and constantly, searching for small insects and other prey on branches and leaves.

A little further down the road, in a large yard dotted with bare-limbed pecan trees, several Eastern Bluebirds and House Finches foraged in the grass, with one glowing yellow Pine Warbler that made its way steadily across the grass and leaves and around the base of the trees.

Leave a Reply