The Dipper Marden (Tuesday 10th March 2015)

My trip to the 'Dipper Marden' on Tuesday took place early in the morning as I wanted to catch the sunshine before the greyness and rain set in. When I arrived at the bridge I saw a small bird flutter to the side of the river but concluded from birdsong that sprang up from the same location that it was probably a blackbird. As usual I disturbed the heron as I walked towards the other end of the stretch of river near to the Millennium Bridge but saw no other birds or waterfowl.

When I got back to the bridge I paused again. Markings on the stone suggested dipper activity in the not too distant past. A grey wagtail acted as a stand-in as I practiced focusing and framing with my telephoto at maximum zoom, trying to use the bridge to steady the lens, while it flew from rock to rock.

Suddenly, two dippers flew into view from beneath the bridge. One continued and was soon out of sight, but the second landed on the same rocks that the wagtail had lately inhabited, and bobbed up and down.

I got a number of shots, some proved to be too out of focus and were deleted, but a couple were salvageable, and this one was deemed blipable.  It was a delight to see them and I am now encouraged to get a better close-up, possibly utilising a tripod next time.

L.
14.3.2015 (1404 hr)

Blip #1523 (#1773 including archived blips)
Consecutive Blip #016
Day #1812
LOTD #758 (#878 including archived blips)

Lens: Pentax 55-300 mm x1.4 rear converter (Blip), Pentax 17-70 mm

Birds series
River series
River Marden series

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