Tweeters,

I too, used to think that it was odd to see Golden-crowned Kinglets feeding near or on the ground. Then I realized that I had been thinking that around the Christmas season for the last 10 years! It seems (to me anyway) that this time of year it is common to see them very close (ground level to 10 feet up). I have also noticed that the GC Kinlets that I do not observe at low level are moving very quickly at the tops of the trees and don't appear to be feeding, or feeding very little, as if they are moving to a different area completely- while the low level birds appear to be feeding intensely and stay in one immediate area for an extended period. These of course are my own observations so I cannot say that it is always true. But to me it is.

Amy Schillinger-Powell
Renton, WA
schillingera at hotmail.com



From: mcallisters4 at comcast.net
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Golden-crowned Kinglets
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:02:07 -0800
CC: clmcappy at comcast.net










Last weekend, my wife returned from a horseback ride in our neighborhood and told me, somewhat excitedly, about seeing a bunch of Golden-crowned Kinglets down on the ground, virtually unwilling to move out of the way despite the horses passing very near.

I thought it odd, trying to remember a time when I have seen Golden-crowned Kinglets foraging on the ground. I couldn't remember seeing anything like it.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia





From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of johntubbs at comcast.net
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 2:14 PM
To: Michael Donahue
Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Golden-crowned Kinglets


Hi Michael and everyone,

I've also been following this thread with interest, and have seen the same behavior others are reporting - and I don't recall having seen it before with this species. On the Skagit CBC, I was birding the edge of a cemetery and saw a flock of about six or seven birds feeding in the grass about fifteen feet from the woods surrounding the cemetery. They were Golden-crowned Kinglets (GCKI) instead of sparrows as I expected. I spent about half an hour birding that area and multiple kinglets continued this behavior the entire time. And as others have reported, they appeared virtually oblivious to my presence. My typical experience with GCKI's is hearing their very high-pitched vocalizations that indicate a large flock all around the area, but then spending lots of time craning my head upward (usually into conifers) trying (often in vain) to see even a couple of them flitting about for a quick look. An artist friend of mine refers to them as 'flying hiccups' - here and gone and virtually impossible to try to sketch from life as a result of their frenetic activity and inconvenient (for the observer) foraging habits.

I've also seen them feeding on the ground this winter while walking my dog on paths around the neighborhood - something I don't recall from previous years. There are no overt indications of a food shortage, judging from the fact that there are predictably several large flocks (which include chickadees and the occasional creeper or nuthatch as well) in the same areas in small woodlots along my normal walking route. If food was short in those areas, one would assume the flock would exhaust the supply and wander completely away from the area, but so far they seem committed to the same locations. Maybe it's the opposite situation - there might be some kind of unusually high availability of an insect food source on the ground this year that they're exploiting...? (Or maybe this is normal, and I need to spend more time studying kinglets...!)

On the other hand, this is the first year we've had (twice, now) GCKI's physically in our back yard. There are only seven Firs total between our yard and our neighbors, quite a distance from the bulk of the surrounding coniferous forest and so we've always assumed they haven't visited our trees because much good feeding habitat is readily available elsewhere. This could be pure happenstance, or perhaps they are feeding in isolated clumps of conifers because of a scarcity of regular food items.

Interesting to note, whatever the explanation.


John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net


----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Donahue" <bfalbatross at gmail.com>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 1:30:25 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Golden-crowned Kinglets

This thread about Golden-crowned Kinglets feeding down low is really
interesting. Last Saturday on Samish Island I noticed a group of
kinglets feeding in weeds along the road and I don't recall seen them
down so low before either. Are all these reports typical behavior that
we just happen to be noticing and reporting, or is there something
going on? Is their natural food source (which I would assume to be
tiny insects) more scarce? Maybe that November cold snap impacted
their source?

Mike Donahue
Beacon Hill, Seattle
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