Tweeters:

I finally found my first Wallace Swamp Creek Park American Dipper.

I had just stepped out on a little pebble beach just upstream from the
Sediment pond, a bird flew away but it was making a very distinct sound,
I thought it might be a dipper. The past two days I've been using a tape
recorder instead of a note book so I imitated the jibbering I heard and
planned to compare it to Dipper recordings on-line.
Just then a bird flew into a tree over head. I was looking straight up at
it so it was hard to tell but I think it was a Band-tailed Pigeon, also a
great find, I've only seen one other at WSCP. Fortunately I was wearing
Rubber boots, I worked myself upstream in order to see the bird above me
better. As I did I heard the Dipper again. Now I was torn should I go
after the Dipper or try for the Pigeon? I've seen Band-tail Pigeons
before, I've never seen a Dipper. I waded up stream and as I rounded a
bend there was the Dipper, it dove off a rock and went under water, when
it came up it stood on another rock for a minute or two doing deep knee
bends and giving me great views. I would never expected to see it in such
shallow water, but there it was. I was not able to relocate the pigeon,
but the Dipper made up for the fact that the park has been next to
birdless for the past 3 days.

Linda Phillips
sweetmem at juno.com
Kenmore 98028-2616