Little Dipper

Day 292: Botanists and birders have some very special nomenclature they apply to species which are problematic to identify. In the world of plants, it's DYDs and DPDs, i.e., "damn yellow daisies" and "damn purple daisies" respectively. The birder's lexicon includes LBJs and LGBs, "little brown jobs" and "little grey birds." I was flanked by representatives of both disciplines during a recent field trip as I engaged in documenting the occurrence of the DYD while enjoying the presence of a familiar and much-loved LGB in the nearby river. This particular LGB is an American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), also known as a Water Ouzel. Dipper takes his common name from his habit of diving into streams and rivers where, beneath the surface of the water, he swims or walks along picking up aquatic insects and larvae for his dinner. It's not uncommon to observe a Dipper enter the water at one point and see it pop back out again fifty feet upstream half a minute later. When the bird perches on a rock or stick, it may be seen to perform a series of deep knee bends, bobbing up and down repeatedly before making another dive. Birding is not always about spotting distinctive physical field markings; sometimes the behaviour is enough to separate one LGB from another.

American Dipper, Cinclus Mexicanus

Day 97: "Well, hold still a second, willya?" Little Dipper was doing the happy dance on a partly submerged twig, flailing bits of grass against the water and bobbing at the knees as is typical for the species. I'm not sure what he was trying to accomplish, but every now and then, he'd stop his activity to stare intently into the water. Could this have been an example of a bird using a tool? I think he might have been trying to get insects to rise to the surface, and apparently with some success.

The American Dipper is also known as a Water Ouzel, although the older name is not often heard these days. While "Dipper" is certainly descriptive of his dance, this little bugger dives and swims like a Puffin, too! It's not uncommon to see them leap into a creek in the high country, disappear from sight and emerge a minute or more later upstream to perch on a rock, bob-bob-bobbing before taking another plunge. They're great fun to watch!