Birds In Your Backyard

Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet showing his "crown". Image via Wikipedia

Over the past few weeks Pam and I have seen many of the same birds each time we look at the feeders with the binoculars.  It’s always neat to see the birds, and we don’t get tired of them.  But, there is one bird that is quickly becoming a backyard feeder favorite, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

A Hyper Bird

The first thing we both noticed is that the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a hyper little bird, always flitting and twitching.   All About Birds (on the Cornell University Ornithology Lab website) says that the bird is constantly in motion, flicking its wings.  It’s fun to see them (if you can follow them fast enough) dart around the yard from bush to bush and finally to the feeder where they attach themselves to the suet feeder.  Trying to follow them around the yard certainly is a way to build our “binocular handling” skills!  Once on the feeder they are quickly scared away by any other bird in the area, but they return shortly to grab a bit of suet and fly off again.

A Winter Treat

In our area, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a Winter bird, migrating in Canada in the Summer.  So, we better enjoy them while we can because when the weather warms up they will be gone for six months or so.

A Nice Color Combination

The feature that I like about them the most is the very distinct  black and white bar on the wings that really stands out against the light olive color of the rest of the bird.  The male also has white ring around the eye and a “ruby crown” that he flashes every once in a while.  I’ve seen it once and it was only for a brief moment.

Find Your Own Backyard King

If you live in an area that the Ruby-crowned Kinglet visits, keep an eye out and you might just see one of them darting back and forth from the bushes to your feeders, especially the suet feeder.  Look for a very small yellowish-green colored bird that is constantly in motion and you might just have your own “little backyard king”