The hatchings are getting larger mostel bits; yeasterday the parents started catching flys, today they added fish to the diet. One of the adults already had a caddisfly larva in its mouth when it went after and snatched a caddisfly adult out of the air. It is thrilling to watch them already with a mouthful capture something flying in the air. They shoot right to it then pull up and pluck it out of the sky. I have a picture of the bird with both stages of the bug's life.

Yesterday the male was collecting food and was nearly ready to go to the nest, but a hawk, a cooper;s, came chasing a mallard down the river, the mallard was losingt the race, so it dove into the rive just a few yards from us. The dipper had dropped its food and scrunched down and froze until the coast was clear. He was totally frozen for about two minutes.

I'll have pictures up later with the Olympic Bird Walk, and I have several other returning birds scattered through the gallery.


Don Wallace
Sequim
don at e-picturebookdesigners.com