{"id":48737,"date":"2017-10-01T05:11:19","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T11:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=48737"},"modified":"2025-03-09T04:47:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T09:47:42","slug":"ruby-crowned-kinglets-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/01\/ruby-crowned-kinglets-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruby-crowned Kinglets in Northern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ruby-crownedRuby-crowned Kinglet close up on Rabbitbrush – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are tiny little songbirds weighing in at a mere 0.23 ounces but what they lack in size they make up for in high-powered energy, they just don’t sit still. Last week I had several opportunities to photograph Ruby-crowned Kinglets on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a>, they were frustrating because they are so hard to keep up with but they are also fascinating to watch and photograph as they gleaned tiny insects from the greasewood bushes, sunflowers and blooming rabbitbrush.<\/p>\n

This Ruby-crowned Kinglet came in so close that I had to turn off the limiter on my lens just to be able to focus on the bird and even then I still thought the bird was too close. It took time to turn off the limiter and I was only able to get three images of the kinglet before it flew off and this was the only photo that was sharp.<\/p>\n

\"Ruby-crownedRuby-crowned Kinglet – Small in the Frame – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/640, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the kinglets I saw were further away, some too far away to obtain high quality images of them but there were a few looking for insects on the wild sunflowers where I liked how the photos looked with the bird small in the frame. This kinglet photo was one of those. I love the look I appeared to be getting from the bird and its pose too.<\/p>\n

\"Ruby-crownedRuby-crowned Kinglet on Greasewood – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I liked the cocked head pose this Ruby-crowned Kinglet showed while perched on a greasewood. Maybe the bird was curious about the big lens pointed at it, maybe it was just looking at something I couldn’t see, what ever it was I’m glad it cocked its tiny head.<\/p>\n

In Utah there are some areas where Ruby-crowned Kinglets are year round residents and they move to lower elevations during the winter and since there is snow in the high country now that may be why I am seeing more of them in the valley.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are tiny little songbirds weighing in at a mere 0.23 ounces but what they lack in size they make up for in high-powered energy, they just don’t sit still.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,1022,6137,26],"tags":[4142,6139,4098,1830,9070,6153,6146,4104,4289,6138,1028,4307],"class_list":["post-48737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-ruby-crowned-kinglets","category-utah","tag-close-up","tag-corthylio-calendula","tag-desert","tag-greasewood","tag-island","tag-kinglet","tag-kinglets","tag-perched","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-ruby-crowned-kinglet","tag-wild-sunflowers","tag-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-7868.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cG5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48850,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/08\/photographing-a-dynasty-of-ruby-crowned-kinglets\/","url_meta":{"origin":48737,"position":0},"title":"Photographing a Dynasty of Ruby-crowned Kinglets","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I saw so many Ruby-crowned Kinglets in northern Utah that it was impossible for me to keep up with them, I am certain I missed some excellent images because of that.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruby-crowned Kinglet male perched on a sumac, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-male-oak-mia-mcpherson-3374.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-male-oak-mia-mcpherson-3374.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Kinglets","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"For a few moments yesterday morning I was absolutely enchanted by a small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets in Box Elder County in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Migrating Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"September 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ruby-crowned Kinglets always seem to be on the move and blend into their habitat well which makes them challenging subjects to photograph.\u00a0 I love the challenge of photographing small birds though.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruby-crowned Kinglet peering out of a hawthorn, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-8752.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-8752.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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