neighborhood naturalist CORVALLIS, OREGON — WINTER 2016
Golden-crowned Kinglet by Don Boucher, photography by Lisa Millbank
T
he rain froze as it fell on a thin layer of snow, creating a crunchy, noisy surface. By mid-day, ice had accumulated on our clothing and bikes. Fortunately, this gravel road was deep in the forest and with no traffic to contend with, our bikes made steady progress without slipping much. It was the Christmas Bird Count, and our numbers were low compared to other years. Nevertheless, we still had over 300 Goldencrowned Kinglets, and as always, they greatly outnumbered the other forest birds. The noise of our tires on the crusty snow drowned out the faint peeps and tweets in the forest canopy, so we stopped often to listen. Though we counted mostly by ear, we got a few good looks when they came to lower branches. In those precious moments, we forgot about the miserable weather as we admired these delightful, fancy and cute birds. To me, the voices of Golden-crowned Kinglets are simply the sounds that a conifer forest makes; just as ubiquitous and familiar as the wind sighing through fir needles. Golden-crowns are among the most numerous birds in our winter woodlands. On some Christmas Bird Counts in the same forest, during better weather, we’ve counted more than 500 in a day. It’s too bad that many Golden-crowns are
overlooked by birders, and I’m afraid most hikers don’t even know they are there at all. I can understand why; despite their numbers, they aren’t conspicuous. These tiny denizens of the forest canopy are often hidden high in the treetops, and they don’t usually visit backyard feeders. It also doesn’t help that their voices are too high for some birders to hear. It’s worth paying attention to, and tracking down, those little voices in high up in the trees. Fortunately, there are a few ways to improve your odds of seeing them. Now may be the best time to get a look. In winter, they roam from their preferred conifer forests and show up in deciduous forest patches in city parks, suburbs and along rivers. They’re relatively easy to see in the bare trees in winter. You don’t need to search very hard, because you’re not looking for one tiny bird in a large tree. They’re always in flocks, from five to 20 and sometimes more. They’ll join flocks of other birds like Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bushtits, Brown Creepers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Yellowrumped and Townsend’s Warblers. These other species are often more conspicuous because their voices are easier to hear, and they often forage lower in the trees than Golden-
Neighborhood Naturalist, Winter 2016 v13 #4 • page 1