Times when the world seems out of control and you can’t make sense of it, nature is a great remedy. Add birding to your outing, and the mind begins to fit into nature’s rhythm. During late fall and winter, only a fraction of the species are encountered compared to spring and summer, requiring a greater effort to hear and spot them. This is even more challenging when most birds aren't calling out as they do during main birding season. That said, they still make other sounds, including this tiny songbird, the Yellow-crowned Kinglet. This was especially true when several of them were foraging for insects through the leaves. With their yellow crowns showing, they blended in perfectly among the half-dried leaves still clinging to the branches. Light rain fell as I tried to get a few good pictures while the kinglets kept moving, searching for food. In those moments, the world felt small and manageable again.
