Wonderful job on this very quick moving, dark area loving bird, I have seen these guys numerous times, but never been able to get a shot that was worth keeping...thanks for proving it can be done! I don't know WHY you and Tim think Cigarettes and nicotine have anything to do with his eye though....haha just kidding
Thanks for sharing!!
Larry

What a interesting and fine set, Steve. I've never seen this bird in real life, But, as you said, must be fascinating to watch them. Thanks for sharing these, they look very good. Great job!
Socrate

Excellent behavioral sequence here Steve... I've never even heard of this bird before, let alone seen one. I really enjoyed seeing these, thanks so much for capturing these and sharing them with us.

Kirk

Well done Steve, very nice captures

Dick.

VERY nice series of a bird that is most difficult to capture well.

Nicely done!

The "Water Ouzel" as affectionately known by so many trout fishermen who relish seeing them busily working the edges of streams and rivers.

Great capture of a busy bird with great personality! The red ant capture really tops off the series.

Jay

Great pictures. I first saw one of these when I walked up to a small stream in the Sierra and one came up out of the water right after I stopped. I got a good look and was able to identify it later. Cool bird!

tfoltz wrote:
Steve,
Congratulations on a fine series, Awesome

Tim

Thanks Tim, just goes to prove that it pays having the camera kit with you at all times, you never know what you might see.

Best Wishes,
Steve

Rob Tillyer wrote:
Wonderful series Steve. #4 is a fantastic catch. I love watching these guys but they do like the dark places to do their work. WTG

Rob

You're right about their preferring to work in the dark places, Rob, and and with their overall gray color they're sometimes even hard to spot initially.

Thanks,
Steve

Tim Kuhn wrote:
I love watching these guys but they do like the dark places to do their work. +1

I have watched these guys but never in enough light to photograph them as well as you have Steve, well done!

One minor correction, it is a nictitating membrane.

Tim

Hey Tim! Thanks for pointing out the syllabic absence. (Why doesn't FM have a preview button for checking things before posting?) And I've always had the same issues shooting Dippers before; even this time there was barely enough light to keep things respectably in-focus.

Best Wishes,
Steve

thunderbird wrote:
Steve,
Interesting to see exemplary behavioral shots of this rarely seen bird (at least in our local area). I saw some of them about 200 ft inside the gate across the bridge from Glacier Lodge.

Andy

Andy, this may have been one of the ones you saw as these were taken along the creek opposite from the summer cabins behind that gate. The Dippers are in our local mountains (San Gabriels, for one) but these along Big Pine Creek are reliably-seen.

Thanks,
Steve

great shots,

Howard.

Hungtran10 wrote:
nice work steve. these little guys are super fast!

- hung

Not only are they fast, Hung, but that bland gray color may be good for camouflage but makes it hard to even spot them! Or to track 'em with the AF. Should try manual focus next time...

Thanks,
Steve

Love #2 Steve, it's a thrill to get a look at this seldom seen bird especially so well captured

Tom

Johnny Bravo wrote:
VERY nice series of a bird that is most difficult to capture well.

Nicely done!

What JB said, Steve. I've gotten a lens on them maybe twice and came away with nothing this good. Last try was up the creek flowing out of Lake Sabrina and the mosquitoes won the contest on who would stay the longest

Ken

This a fun series. Good focus and lighting. I do enjoy watching these birds popping up from the water, instantly dry.

tom

Steve I don`t know everything about bird photography but from what I do know at this point I have to consider the American dipper the most difficult subject in my area to photograph. They are small. They DIP constantly! They are dark colored. They like dark places and are elusive & very timid. All of which contribute to the degree of difficulty.
It has not been mentioned but when I researched them last year after shooting one here on Prince of Wales Island, I found that they are the only known aquatic song bird. Great job! Take care. Bob
PS Are you the same fellow that used to post on the DPR Panasonic forum under the user name Trail Hiker Steve?

Great captures Steve in difficult conditions.
Who would have thought it would have caught a red ant there!
Martin

lbuscher wrote:
Nice Steve and a new one for me. Also maybe to the bird one red ant was better than no red ant. Amazing what birds and animals will eat and I can't even have a beer. BUMMER
Lou

I'm sure you're right about one red ant being better than none,it's just that he probably would have had better luck finding them on the banks and not in a swift-moving stream...But then I guess it wouldn't be a Dipper. And don't feel too bad about not being able to have a beer, it's not sustenance for us as the red ant would be for the Dipper. Well, for most of us it's not.

Thanks, Lou!
Best Wishes,
Steve

Karl Witt wrote:
I remember this bird! They must have some pretty strong grippers to hold onto that slippery bottom in the current. Infomative series Steve, nice 'skinny-dippin-bird' Thanks for sharing what seems to be a rarely photographed bird.

Karl

You're right about the strong grippers, Karl. It was one swiftly-flowing creek, and of course the Dipper was going upstream, which impresses all the more. It shows a remarkable adaptation to its chosen environment. The Dipper sure gets my respect!

Thanks, my friend.
Steve