Hi Tweets, I've enjoyed the recent observations about kinglets foraging on
the ground. I used to live in West Olympia in the middle of a couple of
acres of second growth fir forest. There were lots of both species of
kinglets around. I checked my notes and found two specific observations
that I made in the 1990's. The first observation of 1991, January 1 - "I
saw a flock of four G.C. Kinglets on the ground feeding beneath a big leaf
maple tree". On December 30, 1990 - "There was about one inch of snow on
the ground. The R. C. Kinglets were on the ground feeding. They were so
tame that I could get within one foot of them. The red crowns were obvious
and beautiful." I also vividly remember a deeper snowfall of about a foot
deep. I was going down the hill to get the paper in the morning and several
kinglets were in a small bush beside the driveway. I stopped to watch them
and one R.C. Kinglet flew over and landed on the toe of my boot. I seemed
to like it there because it stayed for about three minutes before flitting
back to its buddies in the bush. Unfortunately I didn't write down the
date. So as Max Warner mentioned it's R. C. Kinglets as well as G. C.
Kinglets that show this type of ground feeding behavior in the wintertime.
Bert Bartleson, Now in East Olympia [on the prairie but with two remnant fir
trees that occasionally attract a few kinglets]