{"id":69719,"date":"2020-05-11T05:56:42","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T11:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=69719"},"modified":"2025-06-06T08:09:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T13:09:43","slug":"ruby-crowned-kinglet-perched-near-a-seep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/11\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-perched-near-a-seep\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruby-crowned Kinglet Perched Near A Seep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-147886 size-full\" title=\"Ruby-crowned Kinglet perched in front of a dark background, Box Elder County, Utah\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869.jpg\" alt=\"Ruby-crowned Kinglet perched in front of a dark background, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Ruby-crowned Kinglet perched in front of a dark background &#8211; Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 500, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This time of the year Ruby-crowned Kinglets are on the move and I find them foraging in shrubs, bushes and trees but I don&#8217;t often get decent images of them because they move so quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Just about the time I can get focused on them, they fly off to another location. That makes this species a touch frustrating to photograph but I enjoy the challenge and I love seeing these tiny dynamos whether I get photos of them or not.<\/p>\n<p>There are times I hear the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xeno-canto.org\/451349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">calls<\/span><\/a> of Ruby-crowned Kinglets before I see them and that helps me to locate these small, elusive birds. I rarely hear their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xeno-canto.org\/534178\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">songs<\/span><\/a> but that might be because in some of the places where I photograph this species they are just moving through instead of being of areas where they actually breed and nest.<\/p>\n<p>Ruby-crowned Kinglets do breed in the mountainous areas of Utah though and I&#8217;d be elated to find a nesting pair to observe and photograph.<\/p>\n<p>I photographed this Ruby-crowned Kinglet in May of 2018 in Box Elder County, Utah in an area with a freshwater seep at the base of a mountain range that attracts all kinds of migrating birds.<\/p>\n<p>The kinglet was perched on a curved branch over the seep and the shadows under the shrubs behind the seep are what created the dark background. The kinglet stayed long enough for me to take about a dozen photos of it before it flew off.<\/p>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t had any real opportunities with Ruby-crowned Kinglets so far this season but when I get out into the field I am always listening for their calls and searching for them. I know that I have to be alert, paying attention and fast when it comes to photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets or they will make the statement &#8220;she\/he who hesitates is lost&#8221; a reality.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I know that I have to be alert, paying attention and fast when it comes to photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets or they will make the statement &#8220;she\/he who hesitates is lost&#8221; a reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[27,1148,6137,26],"tags":[4004,4897,6139,9869,4098,6153,6146,4104,6138,7474,165],"class_list":["post-69719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-ruby-crowned-kinglets","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-branch","tag-corthylio-calendula","tag-dark-background","tag-desert","tag-kinglet","tag-kinglets","tag-perched","tag-ruby-crowned-kinglet","tag-seep","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-at-a-spring-seep-mia-mcpherson-9869.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-i8v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101694,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/21\/spring-ruby-crowned-kinglet-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":69719,"position":0},"title":"Spring Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I spent some time high in the Wasatch Mountains and came home with a few Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos that I liked enough to share.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Low light Ruby-crowned Kinglet with prey, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-mia-mcpherson-7848.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-mia-mcpherson-7848.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-mia-mcpherson-7848.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-mia-mcpherson-7848.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54178,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/09\/17\/focusing-on-ruby-crowned-kinglets-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":69719,"position":1},"title":"Focusing on Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I spent time focused on photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets in a Wasatch Mountain Canyon in a thicket of hawthorn and chokecherry trees.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruby-crowned Kinglet foraging in a hawthorn tree, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-8749.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-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-8749.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-8749.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-8749.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48850,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/08\/photographing-a-dynasty-of-ruby-crowned-kinglets\/","url_meta":{"origin":69719,"position":2},"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 &quot;Birds&quot;","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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-male-oak-mia-mcpherson-3374.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-male-oak-mia-mcpherson-3374.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60712,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/10\/07\/enchanted-by-fall-ruby-crowned-kinglets\/","url_meta":{"origin":69719,"position":3},"title":"Enchanted By Fall Ruby-crowned 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 &quot;Birds&quot;","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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79780,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/02\/25\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-photo\/","url_meta":{"origin":69719,"position":4},"title":"Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photo","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photographed this male Ruby-crowned Kinglet a few years ago he was foraging in a sumac close to the edge of road in Box Elder County.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult male Ruby-crowned Kinglet showing his crown, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-male-crown-mia-mcpherson-3391.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-adult-male-crown-mia-mcpherson-3391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-male-crown-mia-mcpherson-3391.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-adult-male-crown-mia-mcpherson-3391.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48737,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/01\/ruby-crowned-kinglets-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":69719,"position":5},"title":"Ruby-crowned Kinglets in Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruby-crowned Kinglet close up on rabbitbrush, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-7868.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-7868.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-7868.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-7868.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}