Saturday, 04/14

The sun was out, and late in the day the flies were flying and so were the dippers. They stand at the river's edge or on a log overhanging the river, darting three to who knows how many feet, they snatch a helpless fly. Not once or twice, I have seen up to eight flies in one dipper's mouth. One of them gave me a show, displaying her aerobatic skills, when she finished she came about fifteen feet from me and gave me a display of the results of her feats, letting me get some very close shots that truly show how athletic these little creatures are.

The parents are giving the hatchlings a wide variety of nutrition, Fish is delivered, maybe ten to fifteen times a day, flies when they are flying , the rest are aquatic marcoinvertebrates 200+ times a day.

The female is spending less time in the nest, with 12 minutes being an average, once five, another 35.

I have seen a river otter for two days now, he seems to just be drifting by, but took a good look at me today, I hope he is not seeing the dippers. The dippers might seem like a meal for him, but he has seen me and maybe down stream may feel safer. A merlin stopped by, it hung out on a tree across the river; everybody is watching everybody.



Don Wallace
Sequim
don at e-picturebookdesigners.com