24 March 2012 and eggs have arrived.
I said yesterday that I was 99% certain that egg laying had begun but didn't feel that it was safe to check. Their behaviour was so different than on any of my previous visits in the last 6 weeks. I have witnessed site selection and nest building and if all progresses then eggs were due any day now. I couldn't visit the site until this evening and when I arrived there was no sign whatsoever of either birds, even though I watched for 30 minutes or so. I decided to check the nest for eggs and am glad to report that it contained two. Knowing that eggs are laid in the morning on consecutive days I am certain that I was correct in yesterdays assessment. To me there is nothing more beautiful than a bird's egg, it is the epitome of everything that is special in nature. Knowing that a bird will only lay an egg when conditions are perfect makes it special to be able to share in the intimate parts of it's life. The last 5 weeks have been building to this moment and I am thrilled that she has started to lay her clutch, as expected. There is still a long way to go but things are progressing just as I hoped.
23-MAR-2011
23rd March, a change in behaviour
The male was mid-stream on his favourite boulder when I got there at around 8.30. I guessed that the female was in the nest and that was confirmed when after a few minutes he flew up to the nest, went in and then flopped back out after 10 seconds or so. Every 20 minutes this behaviour was repeated and on one occasion I actually saw the male catch something in the stream and take it up in to the nest. This confirmed what I had suspected, he was actually feeding the female in the nest. At 10.30, she left the nest and as far as I could tell she had been in there for two hours. I was never confident that I could check the nest without causing disturbance so I resisted the temptation to check for eggs but to be honest, I didn't feel I needed to look because I am 99% certain that she had laid this morning.
To summarise, it appears that the female has laid and the male is already in to the routine of standing guard over the nest while she sits, providing food for her on the nest. I wasn't sure how the male will behave once the clutch is laid, but his behaviour this morning would indicate that the female is going to incubate the clutch and the male will feed her.
21-MAR-2011
March 21st 2012 Female still lining the nest.
I noticed that the nest protrudes out from the bank and reaalised that I could buld a little cover amongst the brancches of a holly bush, not far from the nest and with a clear view of the comings and goings. I did a good job of building it and concealing it both from the Dippers below me and just as importantly from any walkers that might pass by on the path through the woodland adjacent. I made the front, the bit that the Dippers could see, from dead wood, leaves and fern fronds. It worked really well and reminded me of a machine gun emplacement in miniature. The rest of it was wrapped with old cam netting and then everything was disguised again with dead leaves grasses and ferns. I had to work really quickly while the birds were away from the site but the majority was completed from the inside, taking a leaf out of the Dippers book so to speak.Whe I got there this morning it wasn't long before the birds gave me the chance of a photograph (see below) but my 500 lens didn't capture the bird, the field of vision was not big enough to capture the action, the bird was throughthis field of vision in a fraction of time and all I got was either a head or a tail. I changed the lens to my 200 which meant that I could see more of the scene in front of me. I focused on the nest and set the camera to manual so that the focus was fixed and wouldn't "hunt". The ligt was taken caer of by using the manual setting because I knew that anything less than 1/2000 sec. wasn't quick enough to freeze the action. The ISO had to be set at 3200 to enable enough light in to the camera, hence the slightly un-natural and grainy look of the finished image. Then I waited again for the bird to arrive and as it flew up to the nest from the boulder below, I pressed the shutter and took 6 images in a second. Somewhere in the middle of this mini series of 6 was the photo, not perfect by a long shot, but getting there at last.
Yesterday the lack of Dippers at the nest had caused me just a tiny bit of concern, it had been such a departure from their behaviour on previous days. Imagine my delight therefore, when at 07.30 this morning, there they were on the rocks in front of me, they arrived from up river excitedly, the male singing his musical call and displaying to his mate who was carrying a beech leaf. The difference today though was that I was in a new position and looking from a different angle. I had been excited at the prospect of getting some good photos from here but the pictures that I finished up with today, exceeded all of my expectations.The female brought and deposited several leaves during the 4 hours that I was there, visiting about 6 times, far fewer than earlier in the week. She was always accompanied by the male but he has now stopped getting involved with building or lining the nest. Instead, standing guard beneath and at times singing loudly. Some interesting behaviour occurred from the male who, as he sat on the rocks beneath, eventually got tired of waiting and flew up to the nest to seemingly encourage the female to emerge. He did this on several occasions staying in the nest for only seconds. Both birds were around the nest territory, but not constantly, up until 1130. This is roughly the same pattern of behaviour that I witnessed last year. They appear to back to the habit of "domestics" in the morning and feeding in the afternoon. A quick check of the nest before I departed revealed no eggs yet. Having seen her with "nest-lining" leaves often this morning, I may re-assess my prediction of egg laying which I was expecting today or tomorrow.
20-MAR-2011
20th March
As soon as I got to the nest site this morning I could sense that something was different and that's the way it turned out. The nest is finished now, I sat there for an hour but without a visit from a Dipper! This is quite a departure from behaviour on previous days when they were building and almost constantly in front of me. I have to confess to some slight concern but having checked last years records, I note that the few days before the first egg was laid there was the same kind of behaviour. I crossed the river to check the nest for the first egg. This was not going to cause any disturbance because I had already ascertained that the pair were safe and well and feeding together, way up-stream, 500 yards away. The nest contained wet leaves giving me the impression that some had been added in the early morning before I had arrived, however there are no eggs yet. Fingers crossed that all is well and hopefully egg laying will begin very soon.
I went back in the late afternoon, anxious to confirm that everything was OK. I took up a position with a good clear view of the nest and the territory all around. It wasn't long before the male turned up, just as I had hoped and expected he would, but I was still relieved and pleased to see him. At this time of the day I have noticed that the male will patrol his territory, take up a position near to the nest and sing loudly, proclaiming his patch. He had read the script and turned up on cue!
19-MAR-2011
19th March
Today's session shows some interesting developments. Nest building is finished now and the final touches are being applied to the lining of the nest, (with beech leaves). When I first arrived today, I couldn't see any Dippers at first but it wasn't long before I had something to watch.
I took notes and I quote from them now:
"The male landed opposite and beneath the nest. He flew up stream and then the female arrived with a beech leaf and immediately took it up to the nest. The male returned quickly afterwards and then the female emerged from the nest to join him. The male sang a greeting to her and they both went back up in to the nest. The male was first to emerge and started to preen under the nest. He then flew to my side of the river and landed on the large boulder. He continued preening and singing. He then returned to the rocks immediately beneath the nest again. He sang loudly, the female left the nest and straight away flew up river, followed closely by the male. All through this the female had been in the nest, quite an extended period and the longest that I have observed so far since nest building began. The male was the first to return and he was quickly joined by the female who he displayed to as soon as she landed. She quickly flew up in to the nest and the male remained below but flew up to join her a little later, with excited chatter."
This was typical of the comings and goings this morning. But, the birds were away from the nest site for longer periods than the previous two weeks. Now that the nest is finished, priorities are changing. This is going to be a relaxed period for the male. He can now take it easy before the stressful job of providing food for his progeny begins. The next stage for the female is egg production followed by incubation.
It was a good session for other birds as well, a glorious pair of Goosnders were on the river close to the nest, previously I have only seen a female here. I also had a very close encounter with a treecreeper not to mention the Dipper from the next territory. All in all a great session.
18-MAR-2011
18th March
It's now the 16th or 17th day of nest building and the male has decided that his primary task is to defend his territory and keep watch over the female who I believe is a day or so away from egg laying. This morning, the female continued with the task of lining the nest using beech leaves, brought to the nest one at a time. The male very occasionally helped with a leaf or two, but spent the majority of his time sitting on a new "favourite" perch on my side of the river. Luckily this boulder is in perfect light for photography and consequently I was able to take some glorious photos of him. He seemed to encourage her in to the nest a couple of times, excitedly singing as he flew in before she flew in after him. I could then hear singing from inside the nest, again I suspect that mating took place inside the nest. I need to undertake some research in to this. As as yet I have not been able to find any information that this takes place. On another occasion the male went in to the nest without a leaf and then immediately flew out again with a leaf which he dropped in to the river. Quite why he did this we will never know. It's worth mentioning what a spectacle it is when the Dippers fly in with their brightly coloured leaves, the combinations of brown feathers, stunning white breast and almost golden brown leaves is a glorious sight. If you now study the photos of the nest you can see how much moss has been used, all carried in a few pieces at a time, an immense task and you can understand why it has taken 17 days so far. The male seems to be very alert to other alarm calls from birds in the nearby woodland. Not for the first time, this morning a Kingfisher flew up river calling loudly as they do. This was all too much for the male Dipper and he left very quickly in the other direction. I suspect that they are very vulnerable to hawk predation in the breeding season and their strategy is to leave nothing to chance. Sparrowhawk predation, or the threat of it might also explain why the Dippers are prone to fly way up river and feed hundreds of yards away from the nest. This area could be away from the Sparrowhawk territory. I know from my own observations that a Sparrowhawk regularly hunts close to the Dippers nest.
17-MAR-2011
17 March and the nest nears completion.
I am quite certain that nest building is in it's final stages now. Today, both birds, but mostly the female, and for the two hours that I watched, constantly brought dried beech leaves to the nest. Not once did they bring moss or grasses. As I mentioned yesterday, they seem to be quite accepting of my presence nearby, of course, I have tried to keep disturbance to a minimum and the ideal would be absolutely no disturbance whatsoever but it is impossible to get in to the hide without being seen. Today, as I was uncovering the entrance of the hide and being as quick as I could, both birds landed opposite with beech leaves in their beaks, obviously not perceiving me as a threat. The female went in to the nest as I stood there, not in the least bit concerned that I was visible and just opposite. I climbed in amongst the wood pile and started to watch them. The female, after she had contributed her leaves stayed in the nest, leaving the male resting on the rocks beneath. After several minutes, a much longer period than on previous days, she emerged, flopped in to the water and then joined the male who displayed to her with much wing fluttering and dipping. They both went off in different directions and came back after a short while with more leaves. This pattern was repeated with the male from time to time, taking leaves of his own in to the nest. The highlight of today's session was when the female came to an area just to the right of the woodpile and began gathering leaves. Before she flew back over to the nest she gave an amazing photo opportunity.
It's been interesting to be able to record that both birds have taken an equal share in nest building and again contrary to previous information, both birds have carried leaves to line the nest.
17-MAR-2011
17 March the male in flight
Because of the situation of the nest, tucked away on the dull side of the river and out of the sunlight, it's really difficult to attain a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action of the birds in flight but today I got about the best "in-flight" shot so far,
16-MAR-2011
16th March and beech leaves are being added.
It's now 2 weeks since I discovered the "new" Dippers nest, close to where they had built last year. I have watched the nest develop from a slight hollow recess on a vertical moss covered bank , in to a cosy structure of moss the size of a volley ball. I have no idea of the internal measurements but I am guessing that it is a warm well insulated, secure nest, now almost ready to receive a healthy clutch of eggs. If everything continues successfully, I am going to have the pleasure and privilege of watching parents bringing food to hungry chicks and then the fledging of healthy baby Dippers. Both birds, and this deserves recording as it is contrary to previous information that I have read, have taken an equal part in the construction of the nest. They have worked tirelessly for at least 4 hours each day and probably much more, that's a total of at least 48 hours work so far, carrying an endless and constant supply of nesting material to the nest. The nest has been formed from the inside with mostly moss but some leaves and dried grasses have also been utilised. This has been pushed and woven in to the existing structure as more material has been added from the inside. The entire structure spreads outward and around to form a ball with a small entrance hole at the front. This is held together by the sodden moss and the more material added the more compacted and secure it becomes. Made from the same moss that covers the entire bank, the structure is almost invisible and it's presence is only given away by the birds flying in and out. Today was a milestone, both birds brought mainly beech leaves to the nest to line the cup, this is the final stage of building and an indication that eggs will soon be laid. I also noted that the female spent some extended periods in the nest alone, not just the usual two or three minutes. The male is still "full of the joys of spring" and not only started to sing whilst on the wing but also sang loudly from inside the nest again, this time while the female was with him. I wonder if mating occurred on the nest?
I made an error of judgement today, I was caught out in the open as I prepared to come away. Both birds flew in to the boulder in front and carried on as they normally do as I stood there. I took this as a sign that they are accepting of my presence now and used to me being around as I come and go, as long as I do not get too close. It is worthy of note that the male flew aggressively towards a Grey Wagtail perched near him, this didn't develop in to a chase once the male Wagtail had moved on but it is the first time I have seen even an acknowledgement of this different species in the Dipper's territory.
15-MAR-2011
15 March the male bringing grass to the nest.
A wet and misty day made it hard to get photos today but from a log pile opposite the nest, I watched the pair who are still bringing material, the male taking as much responsibility in nest building as the female. There is nothing different to report except I did hear the male actually singing from inside the nest. He's obviously in a high state of breeding condition. Again, they were displaying to each other but not with the same intensity as the day before, perhaps the miserable dull day just literally "damped" things down a bit. At one point, the male brought a very large stem of dried grass complete with roots. Instinctively it was still dunked and thoroughly soaked before it was taken up in to the nest. I watched the male arrive at the nest with a crash landing in to the water just in front of the favourite boulder and then swim up to it before climbing out. This was repeated several times. Each time the birds swopped over, the vacating bird would invariably flop in to the water before swimming back to the boulder before deciding in which direction to fly, sometimes over to me, too close to photograph, but mostly down river. Sometimes they would spend 5 minutes or so collecting nesting material, arriving back again with a full beak. On other occasions they would be away for 20 minutes or so, obviously feeding.
14-MAR-2011
14th March
I enjoyed my session today, there is a big change in atmosphere at the nest. Firstly both birds are spending time in the nest together now, I am presuming that it is approaching completion. It seems that their bond has really strengthened now and each time they met up again, even if only separated for just a minute or two, there was a greeting display from both birds and the female also offered herself to be mated on a couple of occasions. Displaying by the female involved stretching up to her full height with much neck stretching and pointing of her beak upwards, followed by crouching with the wings dropped and rapid quivering. The male on the other hand calls musically, also with dropped wings and the sibilant greeting heard in the nest is also used. I have't seen mating yet. Specifically today, both birds brought nesting material to the nest, a mixture of moss and grasses but as yet I haven't seen beech and oak leaves being brought this year. They spent far less time on nest building today while I was there. They had both vacated for their favourite feeding area up river by midday. Later on the male returned to a rock in front of the nest just to sing his territorial song, 10 minutes later after the usual good stretch and after a long preening session and a full rendition of his song, twice over, he flew back up river and by 3.30 they still hadn't returned. Pretty much the same as last year.
13-MAR-2011
March 13th 2012
Not too much to report today, around 10 days in to nest building. Both birds were carrying on as previous days with each bird spending time in the nest but never remaining in there together. Nesting material consisted mainly of moss and I have not seen too much evidence of leaf carrying as yet. Nests are said to be lined with oak leaves or beech and last year I saw leaves being carried, a few days before the first egg was laid, both birds brought leaves to the nest. I am therefore assuming that we still have several more days of building before completion and the arrival of eggs.
I managed to take up a prone position under a cam net at water level and it gave me a different angle of the nest and the favourite boulder. The birds were again oblivious of me and carried on unconcerned. I managed to get some better shots of the birds in flight and there has been an improvement which is good. At one point a Kingfisher arrived near the nest and perched tantalisingly close to me, I didn't have the camera assembled so couldn't get a picture. It is the first time this year that a Kingfisher has landed nearby. When it had moved on and before I left, I went to see if there was a hole and a Kingfisher nest, that would have been too much to hope for, so no!