Fire & Ice

Gallery: AvianPosted February 6, 2011301 views23 comments

Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Winter, with white patches of melting snow in the background.
There's another male just out of frame, causing the Kinglet to raise its "fiery" crown.
F/10, 1/1000th, ISO 640, 1D M3, 300mm f/2.8 + 1.4x around noon. Clear & sunny.

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 6, 2011 at 9:55 AM

Really nice Howard. I like the comp and the raised crown is awesome. detail is nice on the bird especially around the eye and face. Nice BG. Well done.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on February 6, 2011 at 10:12 AM

Great show of that crown! You must have been very persistent to come away with this many decent shots of this little spitfire! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on February 6, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Yea your right, the other shots were though to live with.

The raised crown is what makes this one stand out for me, but other than that personally I think I like your other shots better partly because of the backgrounds and poses. All very nice shots though.

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 6, 2011 at 11:04 AM

As good as it gets for this species - that raised crown is a hard feature to get

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on February 6, 2011 at 11:06 AM

This is about the best raised crown that I have seen! Excellent work!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on February 6, 2011 at 11:41 AM

A beauty Howard, I like the alert pose and raised crown a lot.

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Twaddell on February 6, 2011 at 12:48 PM

Always nice to get one flashing the crown like that!

Registered on August 16, 2007, 199 Posts, 2132 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 6, 2011 at 1:17 PM

Excellent. The presence of the second bird was the key to this.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 6, 2011 at 1:30 PM

Great image. I don't know if I have ever seen a Ruby-crown with the crown raised so high.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on February 6, 2011 at 1:36 PM

Very nice and colorful bird, Howard. I like the perch and the composition very much.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on February 6, 2011 at 1:39 PM

Very cool. Looks like a punk rocker!! Nicely captured.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on February 6, 2011 at 2:42 PM

Have never seen the crown - excellent shot!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on February 6, 2011 at 6:46 PM

Excellent catch Howard!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 6, 2011 at 7:54 PM

Wonderful shot Howard, great getting the crown up like you did!

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 6, 2011 at 8:55 PM

Well done Howard, crown fully erect!!! You could take a little bit off the right side if you wanted, but this is a real accomplishment on a tough little bird to capture still.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on February 6, 2011 at 9:07 PM

Howard,
I Love everything about this. Love the title as well. Way to go Howard.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on February 7, 2011 at 11:12 AM

Wonderful shot. Some people wonder how they got their name... now they know. Over the years I have seen hundreds of these, but have only seen the raised crown a handful of times (and no photos to prove it). Great job of capture a rare moment. Nice angle to the perch too.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Douglas Graham on February 7, 2011 at 11:15 AM

Thats a great capture Howard. Its a tough species because of size and this is over the top. Great job.

Registered on May 14, 2009, 123 Posts, 522 Comments

Comment posted by David Williams on February 7, 2011 at 2:13 PM

Don't think I've ever seen a crown showing this much. Nice moment captured here, Howard!

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on February 7, 2011 at 3:36 PM

Howard,
that crest and the alert pose make the shot for me. Brilliantly done.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on February 7, 2011 at 9:49 PM

I agree with all of the many nice things others have said about this shot, Howard. That crown really does it.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 8, 2011 at 11:05 AM

Interesting pose, composition and background really add to the image. I have yet to get a goood shot of one of these, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 8, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Hi Howard

Capturing that raised red crown, was your crowning achievement.

for the day

The pose, and detail. are also great

Albert Darmo. Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments