Today, I saw an interaction between the male and female that was purely a joy and surprise to see. The male had been hunting and had what looks like a caddisfly larva in its mouth; the female came out of the nest and flew to the rock where the male was standing. They both at the same time stretched their bodies upward and the female first started screaming at the male; the male was screaming back. Their beaks were pointed to the sky, with necks stretched up as far as they could, each doing a two step to the left and to the right. The female would open her mouth wide and the male would tease her by moving the food close, then pulling it away. This went on for a couple minutes and he never gave it to her. she flew off and he took it into the nest.
It was a playful intercourse. I got some pictures, but I was behind the male, and the pictures do not give the whole representation of their playful interaction, yet they are descriptive. Dippers are clearly creatures filled with joy. I will share the weeks worth of pictures on Wednesday, with the bird walk.



Don Wallace
Sequim
don at e-picturebookdesigners.com