Flock in Santa Cruz California Forest in April

[A-man]

Sorry no picture! The closest it looks like is the Ruby Crowned Kinglet. This was a very small bird travelling in a flock foraging in low tree branches above a river. I heard a call repeated as they came through. Went like this: tweet tweet tweet tweetweetweetweeeeeeeeeeeet tweet tweet tweet. Yep that's the best I can do, I don't know the terminology. Solid notes, though, a little flat. If I heard it again I would know. Any thing else it could be? I have also listened to Pine siskin and Huttons Vireo.

[Aaron]

Golden-crowned kinglet?

Are there any other details you can provide of what it looked like? 

[IKLland]

i don't think i've ever heard of kinglets in a flock. 

[A-man]

It really looked a lot like the Ruby crowned kinglet or Huttons Vireo. The bill was distinctly short and triangular. Less than 5 inches body size. Not sure about the coloration but nothing bright. Possibly had a darker hood. They passed me while I stood still with my head in the branches so I was about 2ft away. They just came in bounced around and ate the bugs in the branches and left

[IKLland]

1 hour ago, A-man said:

It really looked a lot like the Ruby crowned kinglet or Huttons Vireo. The bill was distinctly short and triangular. Less than 5 inches body size. Not sure about the coloration but nothing bright. Possibly had a darker hood. They passed me while I stood still with my head in the branches so I was about 2ft away. They just came in bounced around and ate the bugs in the branches and left

try looking at bushtits. They are small ,gray ,travel in flocks, and are active. 

[Connor Cochrane]

Ruby-crowned Kinglet have a song that might be similar to what you described. 

[IKLland]

1 hour ago, Connor Cochrane said:

Ruby-crowned Kinglet have a song that might be similar to what you described. 

do they really travel in flocks? Besides the song, i like bushtit. 

[A-man]

24 minutes ago, IKLland said:

try looking at bushtits. They are small ,gray ,travel in flocks, and are active. 

It is definitely the right behavior. But they didn't have little twittering. More of loud tweeting, distinct notes. 

[A-man]

10 minutes ago, Connor Cochrane said:

Ruby-crowned Kinglet have a song that might be similar to what you described. 

I can imagine these birds making the song I head. There was also one that did a single screech. Plenty of tweeting from others.

Maybe there was some other bird travelling among the small ones that made the call? Haha, is that how birds work?

[Aaron]

11 minutes ago, IKLland said:

do they really travel in flocks? Besides the song, i like bushtit. 

A few days ago I had about 5 traveling together with a few Golden-crowneds thrown in there. Though I haven’t seen them in flocks like that during the late spring and summer. 

[A-man]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to have to go find that flock again. Hope they stuck around. You all are going to turn me into a birder

[Avery]

7 hours ago, A-man said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to have to go find that flock again. Hope they stuck around. You all are going to turn me into a birder

They figured us out!! Quick, run!

[lonestranger]

7 hours ago, A-man said:

You all are going to turn me into a birder

Welcome to Whatbird, @A-man.  It sounds like they may have already got you hooked. If you see your bird again, try to get a photo but if you can't, try to notice things like bill shape and colour(s), leg colour, wing bars, any eye rings or eye lines, etc., etc. Sometimes, more often than you might think, little clues like these can help narrow down the possibilities. As an example, if your bird doesn't have blueish legs, we can rule out Vireos because all Vireos have blueish legs.` *sets the hook a little deeper*

[PaulK]

Another recommendation for thinking about bushtits, especially if you thought they had a hood or a cap. The bushtits I see make a lot of noise.

[Charlie Spencer]

13 hours ago, A-man said:

Maybe there was some other bird travelling among the small ones that made the call? Haha, is that how birds work?

Some flocks consist of only of birds of the same species.  Others, esp. in winter, can be a mix of multiple species.  

*reels slowly, reaches for the net*

[Avery]

41 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Some flocks consist of only of birds of the same species.  Others, esp. in winter, can be a mix of multiple species.  

*reels slowly, reaches for the net*

Or, if you’re in the Northeast, fall (and spring) can bring large flocks of many species. Most species in this checklist were in one flock, and likely severely undercounted. https://ebird.org/checklist/S73225706