Spring Dippers

Back in March I spent some time photographing a pair of Dippers.  They were building a nest and most of the time were collecting moss from the rocks, both in and out of the water.  I was lying on the rocks next to the bank to photograph them. It wasn't the most comfortable of photographic sessions, but some rewarding shots were to be had. They were so preoccupied with their moss gathering that they didn't seem to notice me, sometimes coming within 3 metres of my lens.

Photo of the Day - Dipper

A Dipper collecting moss for it's nest, taken earlier this year.

My Favourite Images (2)

The second in the series of some of my favourite images.

Brahminy Kite
Photographed in Goa, India. One of two wild birds that were very tame due to being fed fish scraps since they were young. This is a full frame image taken with a 300mm lens.

Corncrake
A bit of time and patience was rewarded with close views of these birds on the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

Cuckoo
This juvenile bird was here locally a few years ago. It was late summer and very overdue for its migratory trip south. It gave a week of photo opportunities which I made the most of. I believe these wing stretches were part of it's final preparation for it's long journey ahead, this was the last day it was seen here.

Dipper
I was set up in a hide on a private stretch of river for this shot. After several days without a Dipper coming close, one eventually performed for over an hour right in front of me.

Dotterel
Taken on the same trip as the Corncrake. A group of these birds were very approachable, as I crawled on my stomach to get within 20ft of them.

Dunlin
Taken locally at a high tide winter roost.

Dippers

One of the main problems with photographing Dippers is that their habitat along rivers is usually very shaded by trees, so ideally you need as much sunlight as possible, even then it is quite a challenge to get the exposure right, with their dark brown backs and white breasts.

I had hoped to get shots of the newly fledged youngsters being fed by their parents on the river, but thanks to the typical British weather I only managed to photograph the adults collecting grubs for the chicks in the nest, then after several cloudy days I returned to find there wasn't a Dipper to be seen. I tried another location and found that the young birds there were very independent and feeding on their own. I am pleased with the results though and hope for better weather next year.