A White-throated Dipper on the River Frome

Since the sun was shining and I had an urge to see a Kingfisher, I headed down to the River Frome again this morning. I took the same route as on Saturday, when Woodpeckers and I went to view the open day at the new section of the canal under Capel's mill viaduct. There is now a little water in that part of the canal which I could see from the new footpath on the bank separating the canal from the river.

Just after I blipped my picture last Saturday, it was taken from the old footbridge over the River Frome as it emerges through an arch of the viaduct, I had seen a kingfisher flying down the line of the river. So today I walked down from the canal footpath towards the footbridge, and as I neared the bottom of the slope by the river, I saw a kingfisher again swooping away downstream. I was delighted as it meant that I might have a chance of a photo today.

I took my camera out of the bag and checked the settings and moved towards where Woodpeckers had been sitting in my Saturday blip, on the old stone ruins of the mill beside the race. I stepped gingerly as the ruins are rather intricate and then looked up to see the kingfisher going into a hole in the steep river bank on the far side. Having missed it again as I hadn't been prepared I moved even nearer to another stone perch and before I could sit safely it flew away again.

It was very dark under the canopy of the trees aligning both sides of the riverbanks, and although the sun was shining, the scudding clouds seemed to restrict the light enormously. So I set a rather high ISO, and waited, and waited and waited. Obviously this wasn't going to be easy, and probably the bird knew every inch of the woodland and banks and could see me a mile off.

But a surprise awaited me when a White-throated Dipper landed on a large collection of driftwood which had been trapped by some big stones in the middle of the river after the recent heavy rains. I had briefly seen it on Saturday and was delighted to find it there again. It stood and preened itself for a long time on a branch before flying off upstream with a little song and then disappearing. The kingfisher didn't return so I decided to follow the river down through Fromebanks, which has been designated a wildlife corridor through Stroud. It is managed by Stroud Valleys Project, a local charity set up to enhance the local environment and its diversity.

As I walked beside the water, the river narrowed and then widened several times as it crossed over different terrain, and I heard and saw lots of birds both low doen and high up in the canopy. Fromebanks is actually beside the new bypass, which runs along the top of a thirty foot high bank. It was lovely and I shall definitely return to sit and watch with my camera and a tripod to see what wildlife arrives. I saw,a kingfisher in the distance several times in different spots so I may try to record it there another time.

Just as I decided to leave the river, it flew right past me only about four yards away from me and went upstream under the footbridge and beyond. I sat determined to get it when it returned , but after ten minutes my attention was wandering and just then it flew back past me the other way. The little teaser! I didn't mind as it will certainly become a challenge to not only film it but to do it well. I did manage to get about five shots of a blue streak and I have added one to my Blipfolio to prove it. Interestingly it is seen carrying a small fish in its mouth, which I gather shows that it is returning to feed young in its nest. Normally it consumes any fish it eats as soon as it catches it.


from wiki:
The White-throated Dipper is closely associated with swiftly running rivers and streams, or the lakes, into which these fall. It often perches, bobbing spasmodically, with its short tail uplifted on the rocks round which the water swirls and tumbles.
It acquired its name from these sudden dips, not from its diving habit, though it dives as well as walks into the water. It flies rapidly and straight, its short wings whirring swiftly and without pauses or glides, calling a shrill zil, zil, zil. It will then either drop on the water and dive or plunge in with a small splash.

From a perch it will walk into the water and deliberately submerge, but there is no truth in the assertion that it can defy the laws of specific gravity and walk along the bottom. Undoubtedly when entering the water it grips with its strong feet, but the method of progression beneath the surface is by swimming, using the wings effectively for flying under water. It holds itself down by muscular exertion, with its head well down and its body oblique, its course beneath the surface often revealed by a line of rising bubbles.

In this way it secures its food, usually aquatic invertebrates including caddis worms and other aquatic insect larvae, beetles, Limnaea, Ancylus and other freshwater molluscs, and also fish and small amphibians. A favourite food is the small crustacean Gammarus, an amphipod shrimp. I t also walks and runs on the banks and rocks seeking terrestrial invertebrates.