Giant Water Wrens

Living close to North Wales I have  access to a very good area for photographing Dippers. It is common, when you wander up one of the tumbling welsh rocky streams, that you do not see  a bird bobbing on edge of a riffle or cascade or flying low and rapidly along the watercourse. This was a bird that I have previously photographed in my lunch hour but it was always a mad rush as by the time I had reached the birds it was almost time to head back to the office. So it struck me the other day that I have never gone undertaken a proper session with the birds and it was time make amends.

Dippers are amazing birds and always a pleasure to watch as they dive under water looking for food or perch on boulders in tumbling rapids with the characteristic bobbing motion from where they get their name. They are also when you spend time with them very attractive with a mix of brown head, black wings and tails which appears slightly scale-like and shiny , rust red on the belly and a very bright white breast. The latter is a bit of a headache for the photographer and getting the correct exposure of these white feathers can prove a challenge, particularly in a woodland stream where the light is constantly changing. It a brave photographer who tries to photograph these birds under the midday sun! Dipper photography often requires some very busy times certainly changing camera settings. The birds also have thick white eyelids and a session will inevitably result in a few photos with a white patch where the eye should be.

First light starting to come through to the river.

Early spring is a good time to try and photograph these aquatic birds as the light penetrating the woodlands is not restricted by leaf growth and, as an early nesting species, they are usually very active. The nest is an impressive large spherical construction of moss around the size of a football and is often made under bridges or in piles of large wood debris at the river edge.

Some moss heading to the nest

An early alarm call rose me from my slumber yesterday morning, as I wanted to get to site as early as possible. I must admit I was really looking forward to the session and it would make such a pleasant change not to be photographing Dippers against the 1 hour clock. The main reason for an early start was that the site is  a popular place for walking, including dogs, this obviously has its disadvantages but also there is a benefit in that the Dippers are relatively accustomed to people being around.

I left home under clear skies, having cleared a thin film of ice off the windscreen, and as I head towards North Wales I could see a bank of grey cloud over the hills. It was not warm as I stepped out from the car on arrival and I was glad I had dressed for cold as I was going to be sat still in one spot for a while. I walked off down the river to the spot where I hope to find some Dipper which is a bridge where they have nested for several years. Sure enough just as I arrived I saw one rapidly flying up under the bridge with a beak full of moss, it looked like nest building was in full swing, as a second bird quickly also appeared just downstream with a beak full. At this point the light was very poor, as the sun had not climbed high enough and a blanket of grey cloud swirled overhead in the brisk biting wind.

I decided to watch the birds for a while to work out which boulders they were mainly using as they approached the bridge and hoped the light would improve. As I watched it even started snowing briefly at one point but I could see the clouds would probably break up as the morning progressed. The birds were very busy and constantly returning with beaks of moss and other soggy vegetation. When both birds were away I took a quick look at my preferred photography position to check what the water colour would look like as a background to the images. I always think this is important for dipper photography and small changes in position can make a large difference to the look of the photographs. Generally I am looking for areas of coloured water as the Dipper's dark colouration against light water does not usually result in good images. I moved back to the observation point before the birds returned. They left again and this time I go into position upstream of the bridge tucked into a fairly uncomfortable alcove in the bank down at water level.

The light was improving and the first glimmers of sunlight were appearing through the breaking cloud layer overhead. The surrounding woodland was filled with the joyful spring song of various tits, nuthatch and drumming woodpecker. The Dippers returned deposited their nest material and left to find more. They returned once again and went through the same routine before departing. They seemed happy with my presence, which is always important, so it was time to start taking some photographs. I must have been quite well hidden in my camouflage clothing as twice I had dogs appear behind me with a sudden apology and 'oh I didn't see you there' from the owners. Quite a few people crossed the bridge completely unaware of my presence including the family who found more delight in throwing rocks in the river then either me or the birds!

An unusually upright pose for a Dipper.

It was a great morning watching the  pair going about their nest building routine and there were even some moments of good light. I moved position after a while to the far side of the river as I noticed some yellow water, caused by the reflection of a sandy clay bank. My final position was again tucked in the bank downstream of the bridge to get the birds in different settings. Each move was only made when the birds were away from the nest. By 10 am it was all over, as the skies turned leaden grey and it started to rain and hail. When I got back to the car it looked like my timing had been good as large numbers of walkers were assembling.

A adjacent sand bank created some attractive 'golden' water.

Overall it had been an enjoyable session and great to watch the antics of these 'giant water wrens'. Whether I will return for another session this year really depends on how easily I become sidetracked by other subjects. April is nearly upon us now and this is usually a very busy month for the wildlife photographer with the migrants birds arriving and mammals becoming much more

active.

Dipper Time

Thought I would post a few more Dipper images taken during my lunch hour sessions before I was 'struck down' (see previous post). The photos in this post were taken over the two brief sessions.

I really love these birds and can never tire of watching them dive into and hunting through shallow areas of streams for food.

It always raises a smile when I spot one of these birds gently bobbing up and down (from which they get their name) while perched on a large boulder with rushing water all around.

During my initial search for these fascinating birds I had managed to locate a pair in the upstream reaches of the stream, although one of these had a badly infected foot which from a photographic point of view did not look great. I had also briefly encountered a single bird on one occasion about half a mile downstream. During these two sessions, I managed to locate a second pair of birds that had started to build a nest below a foot bridge.

I suspect that this pair included the one I had previously seen downstream. It was good to have located a definite nesting site as it would allow me to concentrate my efforts in a more defined area for future sessions. Unfortunately just as a plan has come together they have had to be put on hold due to my unexpected illness.

I suspected given the very slow progress on recovery of my health will probably now leave it too late to return to the Dippers. By the time I get to revisit I suspect the leaves will have emerged on the bank side trees of this woodland stream and plunged it in to darkness, making any photography near impossible.

If that should be the case then there is always next year :)

Sandwiches and Dippers

I like to indulge in some photography during my lunch hour at work. It's always good just to get away from the office, stretch the legs and take in some fresh air. One such lunch hour favourite is the Dippers that inhabit a local stream. These lunch hour trips are always a bit of a rush around, and allowing for travel time, I end up with around 40 minutes to find the birds and try and get some photographs. My sandwich usually being eaten on the move.

Its always tricky lighting conditions in this stream that tumbles down through a woodland valley. Time is limited, as once the riparian trees burst into leaf, the stream will be plunged into deep shade, effectively ruling out any photography. So I decided to start my brief sessions with the Dippers earlier this year, as I have always previously tried for them around March. As the sun is still low in the sky, the light reaching the swirling water is limited at the moment but should improve rapidly over the coming weeks. I hope to try and make a more concerted effort with these fascinating birds this year and that numerous short sessions will help me build a better picture of their habits. To date I have managed two visits due to the continuing poor weather.

My first visit was encouraging as I managed to locate two birds which both seem to have fairly well defined territories along the stream, making location potentially easier for future sessions where time is so precious. The Dippers are relatively easy to find as the search area is restricted to the narrow corridor of the brook.

One of the birds unfortunately appears to have an infected foot. However, it does not seem to be affecting it too much at present and it has been a joy watching it plunging in to the shallow rapids to feed.

I was pleased to see on my second session that this easily recognisable bird had already seemed to pair up with a mate, in this early breeding species.

I left both of them at the end of last week checking out some potential sites to build a nest.

Despite the narrow search area and their incredibly bright white breast, they are surprisingly easy birds to walk straight past.

However, I have managed to find and photograph birds on both sessions which is encouraging and should be able to build a small library of photos from multiple visits. A Dipper a day keeps the doctor away :).

Stream 'Wrens'

Before I get to posting my journeys around Mallorca last week, I thought I would just post some images from a recent lunch hour project trying to photograph some dippers on a small stream close to my office.

For those who have encountered a dipper before they are like a large white breasted wren who are happy spending as much time under the water as they are above it. They are a fascinating bird to watch as they peer under water for invertebrates to eat and forage in amongst the tumbling water of the shallow riffles.

A bird swimming downstream to its next feeding shallows.

These photos actually took quite a bit of effort with eight days of lunch hours required to obtain the photographs in this post. The birds were being somewhat elusive which was further compounded by the very limited photography time a lunch hour offers after you knock off the travel time.

Dippers are quite a photographic challenge in terms of getting the exposure correct. This results from a combination of dappled and variable lighting falling on a woodland stream combined with their brilliant white breast feathers. You would think this white chest would make them easy to spot but it is surprisingly easy to walk right past a bird.

When you find a cooperative bird then the fact that they will spend long periods carefully preening their feathers allows plenty of opportunity to play with the camera setting and get the exposure right.

Hopefully I can call back in to have another lunch hour session with the birds soon before the tree canopy becomes too dense and sends their woodland stream into deep shadow. A wonderful and fascinating species to watch and photograph.

Heading Northwards

Lunch Hour Dippers

I decided this week to turn my lunch hour camera outings towards trying to photograph some dippers. This decision was made to do this now because the stream where they live becomes heavily shaded once the trees burst in to leaf. The lunch hour sessions provide a very relaxing break in the middle of stressful days but can on occasions also prove very frustrating due to the limited time available. Most typically the clouds will part and the light will come good or I will just find the bird I am seeking as I need to head back to the office.

The first 60 minutes out looking for dippers on the local stream was productive as I managed to locate two nesting pairs. However, the light conditions were not great on either of my two visits.

One of the moss nest balls was not difficult to find as it was fully in the open and had somehow been created, about 7ft above the stream, on a concrete wall. What exactly was keeping it in position on an apparently flat vertical surface remains a mystery.

Dippers are really fun birds to photograph but can be tricky to approach which is not ideal when you are time limited. A great deal of pleasure can be derived from just watching their antics be it bobbing up and down on a rock in the middle of a stream to plunging completely underwater or just wandering around in shallow areas with their head submerged. The couple of brief sessions this week have mainly been geared towards observations and getting some portrait photos on to the memory card.

There are a couple of points to watch out for if you ever find yourself with a dipper in front of your camera. Their breast feathers are incredibly bright white so very careful camera exposure setting is essential to save ‘burning out’ any detail. The other key point is you need to take a good number of photos as a good proportion will be heading directly to the waste bin due to the very frequent blinking of these birds with their prominent white eyelids. The final point is to think about your positioning carefully in terms of achieving a good setting and background. Dipper photos can easily be ruined by a hailstorm of bright specular highlights bouncing back of the tumbling stream waters they inhabit.

A bit of warm up exercises before taking the plunge.

I am planning to spend a bit of lunchtime with the birds over the next couple of weeks which will hopefully produce some swimming and feeding photos under some better light conditions.

Grabbing a moment

I like to keep the camera with me as often as possible just in case the moment arises. For example recently I have been taking some lunch hours to photograph birds. It takes me ten minutes to get to the site near the office which gives me 40 minutes shooting time. These short sessions can be quite productive such as this dipper from this week.

I also have to travel around a lot with work and will sometimes leave home early on my journey so I can have a short stop somewhere en route, as was the case yesterday on the way to Durham. I stopped at Bignall Banks which as two species that I haven't photographed, and intend to concentrate on over the next month, had been reported their recently. These are the pied flycatcher and redstart. I managed to find one female flycatcher during my brief visit.

Down on the River

There is a small river that runs close to my office which allows me the time to have 40 minutes photography during my lunch hour, so I paid some visits during last week mainly to get some grey wagtail shots. Grey wagtails have also been a bit of problem bird for me, as I have seen plenty but only ever got one shot, a situation which needed to be rectified. However, the first bird I came across was the resident dipper and I was fortunate to have between me and the bird which allowed a close approach.

I found a pair of grey wagtails and they were in a smilar location on each short session I went allowing to make the most of my 40 minutes with them each day.

The male bird

and unusually perched in a tree having been scared there by a unleased dog.

and the less colourful female

No need to guess what was on the wagtail lunch menu from this shot.