House-building – Dipper Style!
I have enjoyed watching American Dippers nest at Kokanee Creek for the past two years. They have raised two broods of young each year in the same nest. Was it the same pair each year? I don’t know but the nest disappeared this winter and I was wondering if dippers would nest in the same spot this year.
Three days ago there was no sign of a nest under the bridge. Well, yesterday I watched a pair of dippers bring moss to the “old” nest site. Both members of the pair were busy collecting and pushing moss into place. In one half hour there were over twenty moss deliveries. There was a substantial platform of moss by the time they took a break to feed and I left.
Dippers are one of my very favourite birds! They are one of the most interesting birds I have ever watched. Dippers sing in winter, swim in glacial water all year round, dive beneath the water to find food, and build mossy nests under bridges and waterfalls. All this and they put up with me and my camera too!
all photos and writing copyright J.A. Siderius 2015. Please ask if you want to use a photo – and please give me credit for the photo.
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