I’ve been able to enjoy a few lunch-time walks this week and it’s been great seeing some bird activity in the hedgerows. I’m using an older Sigma 170-500mm zoom and hand-holding it – it’s not a perfect lens by any stretch of the imagination and light conditions pretty much have to be ideal to get any kind of sharp image. And even with great light, I find that I’m often pushing up the ISO and opening up the aperture to get the shutter speed fast enough to compensate for bird movement and camera shake due to the long lens.

Throw a fast moving kinglet into the mix and it’s pretty much a losing situation. I felt I was pretty lucky to get the shots that I did.

Sparrows are easier because they’ll often sit and scold you from a visible perch giving you time to position yourself  for a better composition. I saw several Golden-crowned Sparrows that were fairly cooperative but it was the Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) that attracted my attention on this afternoon stroll.They’re challenging birds to photograph because they’re constantly moving. They do respond fairly readily to “pishing” so I was able to entice one out into the open.

One of the things that I love about bird watching (and bird photography) is the little details. Check out the feet on this bird – the golden yellow “socks” contrast quite nicely with the black legs. Other field marks include the dark area behind the wing bars (which can be used to separate it from Hutton’s Vireo), the white eyering, and the olive colouration. The namesake “ruby crown” is usually only visible when the bird is agitated.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet – a gorgeous little bird for a gorgeous afternoon!