Week 20 – Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I decided to go Morel mushroom and wildflower hunting with a few friends last weekend. We headed north from Boise towards McCall, Idaho and stayed along the shores of Lake Cascade. Man were the wildflowers going off! Camas Lilies were blanketing the shores in a deep purple, and Shooting Stars were highlighting wet meadows in a brilliant pink. Among these wildflowers were many migrating birds newly arrived on their northern breeding grounds.

We decided to take a side trip to Sagehen Reservoir on our way home to continue looking for mushrooms, wildflowers, and birds. This small reservoir is tucked in the low mountains northwest of Boise and featured birds such as Osprey, Common Loon, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ruffed Grouse, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, and many others.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

While scoping out a Common Loon on the reservoir, I noticed a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flitting in the shrubs along the shore. He was flaring his ruby-red crown a bit, and I was able to capture that as he posed briefly on a fir branch.

All of the previous 52-week blog posts can be found at the Wild Lens blog or on Flickr.