One River: Look at me...

I'm as happy as a Dipper in a tree!


I was determined to get out and enjoy the sunshine this morning before the weather broke, so I went down to the river to see how the Dippers were getting on. I saw my happy couple, but only one at a time (fortunately because one is ringed, it's easy to tell them apart) I'm hoping that this means that brooding is taking place in the nest hole. There wasn't much feeding going on, and I was delighted that at one point, this bird perched in a tree and allowed me to get quite close to get some of the best shots so far. 

All life was there. I saw 2 song thrushes engaged in combat, Nuthatches passing food to each other, a Chiffchaff building a nest, Blue tits mating, and a baby squirrel falling out of the drey and having to be rescued by mum, as it dangled precariously in  the ivy overhanging the river. I saw a Robin pretending to be a Dipper, a Pied Wagtail pretending to be a Grey Wagtail, and a grand total of 9 Grey Wagtails working the river. Glorious!