Copyright ©2021 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
I’ve been rather slow at telling you about several new to me birds that I’ve seen this year. There have been 5 so far this year.
The first one I saw was back in February. Yeah, I know. I love making the images, going out hiking, birding, etc., but processing the images and writing…not so much.
So, this bird I saw in February really made me do my happy dance… jumping for joy happy dance because I tried to find this bird several times over a couple of years while I lived in San Jose sans success. Just less than two years after moving to Nevada I found not one but a pair!! Here without further ado is the American Dipper.
They were gathering nesting material under an overpass and flying into a hole under it. Lighting conditions weren’t great. They were in the shadow of the bridge making it hard to get a good image of them. I opened up the shadows in post editing.
This next image shows the white eyelid they have that you only see when they blink.
Finally, I got lucky and one flew out into the sunlight!
Fun Facts: Gleaned from allaboutbirds.org
- The American Dipper chooses a nest site, invariably along a stream, that provides security from floods and predators. Availability of suitable nest sites appears to limit its populations.
- To be able to survive in cold waters during the winter, the American Dipper has a low metabolic rate, extra oxygen-carrying capacity in its blood, and a thick coat of feathers.
- Unlike most other songbirds, but similarly to ducks, the American Dipper molts its wing and tail feathers all at once in the late summer. The bird is flightless during this time.
- The oldest American Dipper was over 8 years old, when it was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in South Dakota.
The American Dipper is North America’s only truly aquatic songbird. I’m so happy I finally saw them!
I hope you all have a great week-end!
Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 22.4.1
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
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