Ruby-crowned Kinglet Migration

Here for the winter? I hope so. I saw a tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) a couple days ago. Normally there are some that spend the winter here. I’m hoping this one is not just passing through.

Their breeding range is far northern North America. They spend their winters in the southern US and the Southwest, some going further south to Mexico. Populations in the mountains of the west take the easy route, just going from the higher elevations to lower elevations where it is warmer.

I’ve never seen them at my feeders but others with feeders have had better luck. These Kinglets eat spiders and insects, as well as berries and seeds. Leaving my gardens go to seed has great benefit. Here, during the winter, these Kinglets are a big fan of seeds of spent Goldenrod and other flower seedheads that I leave for them.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.