The Dipper is a winter visitor in our parts and this year has presented a challenge to photograph. He seems to enjoy the darkest part of the creek and blends in quite well with the small boulders in the stream making spotting him difficult. We waited for eternity for him to hop up on the small sunlight boulder in the photo but no luck.
We were happy to watch him foraging in these small rapids and get a glimpse or two of him above the water as he spent about 95% of his time head down collecting dinner. Hope this guy finds plenty of food and hangs around so we can get another opportunity to watch him.
Amazing bird for sure.
nature has no boss 
For me, it is really nice to see a bird in its habitat, doing its thing. Lovely!
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That’s why we really like watching this guy he is doing his thing.
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He must have good insulation in his feet!
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http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/arctic-and-anarctic-birds/how-do-birds-stay-warm
Birds have a great system don’t they.
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Fascinating adaptation! Thanks for sharing that.
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Hi Eliza, it is a cool way to deal with keeping the extremities warm in the cold but for us mittens and warm boots is the adaptation.
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And down-filled coats! Borrowing another idea from the birds 😉
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I bet if we examine it closely most of out best ideas as humans have been either conciously or unconciously borrowed from a natural design. 🙂
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It even has a name: Biomimicry!
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But the big questions is can you mimic what you already are? 🙂
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I live in Florida and the Dippers do not come this far south but I had learned about them and seen their marvelous talents in a David Attenborough show. Last summer I was in South Dakota and on a hike I spied one on a log. It was a highlight of the trip!
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Hi Alice, the dipper is sure one fun bird to watch and I am glad you got to see one in action.
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Both photos are great, but I really love that second one. How fun!
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Hi Lb, the second photo is how we normally see this guy as he is very busy dipping away in the water. Hope your day is going well and you are getting well prepared for the holidays.
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“Do these feathers make my butt look big?” 🙂
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Being a well trained male I would have to say no. 🙂
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Clever capture. The rear end pic is amusing! 🙂
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Hi Jane, the rear end pic is how over 90% of the photos look as this guy is very busy foraging with his head in the water. Hope your day is going great.
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Nice photos! You have to be really patient when it comes to birds! Sometimes you have to wait for at least half an hour for a good photo!
Kind regards,
Tieme
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Hi Tieme, yes patience seems to be the key with birds and sometimes a little luck is involved also. We did spend a fair amount of time watching this guy until we were able to get him a good photo with his head out of the water.
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Hi Mike, you are absolutely right, a little luck is needed to! As a reward for being patient 😉
I once photographed a little bird building a nest, I spent over half an hour waiting for the best shot.
Kind regards,
Tieme
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It may take patience but it sure time well spent. Cheers and merry Christmas.
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We chased this guy around in Yellowstone and Tetons for more than a week — nary a one. Finally caught up with him in Glacier NP, Father’s Day. Fitting that Dad got found him — along with the Harlequin Duck and Varied Thrush — that made it the most splendid day of our birding vacation last year.
Great shot! I was unable to get a decent shot as he was busy nest building and flying back and forth, in addition to his disappearing under water.
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My only shot of him. At the time, I was shooting with a 200mm-400mm lens, and he was way off. Same probs as you; he just wouldn’t stay still or venture off the rocks into some contrast. With four kids at home, I have no time for post-processing. WYSIWYG for me!
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It is not often that we have a lens bigger than 400mm but sometimes we put on a 1.7x extender on it. Makes for some closer shots and with the small birds is almost a necessity.
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Oh yes! The extender. I have one for a 180mm lens that I’ve not used in a while. Nice to have a bag of tricks…you no doubt have yours! Cheers. Love your photography.
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Hi Shannon and thanks for the kind word about the blog. We have fun doing it and sharing what we see out there. Wishing you a wonderful day.
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Yes the Dippers is one tough bird to film. We have seen them in Yellowstone very often usually just out of photo range. Well at least out of great photo range. One winter we watch one feeding and diving into the roughest water neat very large waterfalls. Amazing. A varied Thrush would be fun to see. I have only gotten glimpse of one once.
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The varied thrush has a unique song, and when heard reverberating through the temperate rainforest of Glacier’s cedars and cypress, it is positively stimulating! I do hope you get one, and that you get up to Glacier. It fills the senses.
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Hi Shannon, I am looking forward to getting to hear the song of the varied Thrush. In general I really enjoy the songs that all thrushes I have heard have and getting to hear it in GNP would be icing on the cake.
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