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If you come across a group of old, plump spruces, you can be almost certain that there are Goldcrests living there. Unfortunately, they are hard to spot as they prefer tree crowns and the “inside” of the spruce. It should not surprise, as it is considered the smallest european bird. It weighs around 5 grams! Being that size, you need to fear everything. I, myself, have seen them running away from a starling (weight of around 80 grams, which is dozen or so times bigger) when I was photographing them. This comparison shows its meager, almost microscopic size quite well. I can assure you, it makes up with its looks. Its yellow parting on the head, olive pigmentation with the elements of white and black often makes me come back to it for outdoor themes. You need to be careful while identifying a Goldcrest as it can be easily mistaken for a Common Firecrest. By measurements and first impression they are almost identical, only after a closer comparison you can spot a white brow above Common Firecrest's eye. Goldcrest, depsite its tiny posture, winters here. So we can enjoy observing it the whole year round, almost everywhere (spruce aggregations). I assure you that the view of those beautiful bird miniatures, move about through spruce branches is a considerable experience. See specification of a Goldcrest.
Last minute news-10/2013
While I was sitting on a pulpit and awaiting red deer, among the spruces behind my back I could hear the sounds of goldcrests. I couldn’t help making another attempt to take a shoot of this smallest European bird. And this is a real challenge for a photographer. A longer lens reduces the size of the frame, from which the goldcrests disappears every now and then. Smaller focal length makes it easier to follow the “target”, but the AF might not always bring the image into focus on time, and if it does, you have to frame the image, sometimes to a significant extent. What is more, goldcrests are found in dense forests, where there’s little light even on sunny days. In such conditions of taking photos I decided to take a few pictures, but with little framing. Before I spotted a goldcrest and turned the lens in its direction, setting the focus , the bird would disappear from the frame. A number of times, when I released the shutter, the frame would stay clear and „birdless”. Anyway, no reasons to grumble, after less than an hour I managed to take a few pictures that are worth placing in the gallery. The rising sun had a warm yellow color, even too yellow for my preferences. Nonetheless, I had never managed to take such close-ups of a goldcrest like the ones I took during the rut, which is why they were added to the gallery. I invite you to take a look (the close-ups on a spruce, with a tinge of yellow, are at the end of the gallery, at least for the time being).
Last minute news 10/2013
A few pictures of the goldcrest in beautiful autumn tones have been added to the gallery. So far they are the only such photos in my gallery. The photos were taken in an urban park, where there were plenty of goldcrests.
Last minute news – 05/2014
There are species of birds you want to return to. Although I have a lot of their photos, this time I was able to take a few interesting photos of the goldcrest. I really like and admire this bird, which is the smallest of our species. This was an opportunity to bring changes to the gallery which was enhanced as well as made complete with the bird’s recorded voice. Welcome to the gallery.
Last minute news - 05/2015
Finally, it was enough time to go back once again to the smallest bird in our forests. This time a goldcrest was really close and I managed to capture its yellow mohawk standing on his head, which after a while was just flat yellow stripe. The gallery was reconstructed and is getting better and better.
Last minute news- 10/2016
Taking some better pictures does not always make the changed gallery go to the news on my website. This time it was like that. Goldcrests ware so close that I took not one but several pictures of much better quality.
Last minute news- 09/2018
In the gallery of the goldcrest there was written a lot about this bird. Thus, I have already mentioned that I would return to some species of birds willingly, and this birdie is absolutely one of them. And since there are no galleries, which could not be improved, complemented with even more interesting photos, then changes are going to be expected, such as in this case, after the next session with the goldcrest...
Last minute news- 10/2021
The improvement of the gallery continues and from October 2021 the gallery is included in my favorite galleries.
Goldcrest - slideshow
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