Thanks, that's still very interesting. Being that close, I wonder how
brackish the water might be, and if the tide brings in any additional prey
(though I don't know how much tidal fluctuation there is down there).
Mary Wilson and Katherine Hocker documented dippers foraging on amphipods
in intertidal portions of river deltas in Alaska, so it seems they will use
some marine resources when they enter the rivers. Cool to see the same may
be true in WA.

Thanks,

Chris

On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 8:44 AM, Kelly McAllister
<mcallisters4 at comcast.net>wrote:

> The dippers were along the flowing water?s edge which is probably fresh
> water. Goldeneyes are always in the current here, foraging for something
> that must be abundant, based on how often I see them there. The dippers
> were probably only 20 or 30 meters from true marine shoreline. I didn?t
> notice whether barnacles or other indicators of salt water influence were
> present where the dippers were. ****
>
> ** **
>
> Kelly****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:
> tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] *On Behalf Of *Chris Tonra
> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 12, 2013 5:13 AM
> *To:* tweeters at u.washington.edu
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] RE: American Dipper on Tahuya Peninsula****
>
> ** **
>
> That is a great observation Kelly. In the non-breeding season on the north
> Peninsula, we occasionally see dippers around the river mouths, but rarely
> very close to the Strait, and never actually foraging in the salt water.
> During breeding they are almost entirely absent from these areas.
>
> Were they still on the freshwater shore, or actually on the canal shore?
>
> Good birding,
>
> Chris Tonra
> The Olympic Dipper Project
> http://www.facebook.com/OlympicDipperResearch
> Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
> Washington D.C./Port Angeles, WA
> TonraC "at" si.edu****
>
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