Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
If you look very closely at the pupil of the bird's eye here you can get some indication of how dull it is by the nest. If it were bright of course, the pupil would be very small. I took very accurate timings of the time between visits with new nest material. On one occasion it was just 10 minutes between visits but usually more like 20. Each time the returned today it was the female who was carrying nest material. As I didn't discover the nest until just four days ago, I can not say whether the male has taken part in any of the nest building but I can confirm that in the four days that I have been observing, I have only seen the female doing any of the building.
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
Here she arrived with a new leaf, ten minutes after departing. She still showed the same degree of caution before entering the nest. The male meanwhile was standing guard nearby.
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
The female arrived at the favoured boulder just beneath the nest site.
I saw her carrying this large leaf from quite a distance away. She worked her way along the water's edge carrying it carefully. When she got to the boulder she proceeded to try and soften it by shaking from side to side.
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
She continues to shake it violently almost as if it were alive and she was trying to kill it, in much the same way that a Kingfisher shakes and beats it's prey. My guess is that she is trying to soften and break the central spine of the leaf.
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
She continued until it eventually broke up in to pieces and then took the small piece in to the nest with the majority of the leaf left to float away with the fast current.
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
The male keeps guard as the female decides if it's safe to enter the nest.
Tuesday 22nd March
I arrived at the nest site at 12.55. When I walked down river I had not seen any Dipper and this encouraged me, I suspected that they would be by the nest, and I was right. I tried to approach very carefully, realising that any disturbance is going to be made when I arrive at the nest, particularly if one or both birds are there. Unfortunately that was the case and one bird was disturbed and quickly left the scene. I was disappointed of course and a bit upset that I had caused it to fly. I quickly got myself concealed and I was very relieved that I hadn't caused too much damage because both birds arrived together at 13.31. I was now sitting in a different spot just a bit further away because I really don't want to get too close. They approached me from up river and quickly landed on the boulder together. This surprised me because I hadn't seen that the bird, there when I arrived, had flown past me . In short, I was expecting them to arrive from the other direction. The female immediately went in to the nest but I hadn't seen if she was carrying any nest material. The male remained on the boulder as you can see, bobbing up and down and fluttering his wings in a display to the female. The male is excitable and never stops bobbing and dancing. They stayed for 10 minutes in total, the female eventually leaving the nest. Then they were both on the rock together and I tried to get a good shot, but didn't really 'pull it off" but it's worth posting for the record.
22nd March continued.
After a few seconds the female left the boulder to perch on the waterfall opposite.
The male flew up river and she followed on. The time was exactly 13.37, is it a coincidence that this is the same time that they were at the nest yesterday? As the afternoon developed I was expected them to return but no, just like the day before the stayed away from the nest area for the entire afternoon. So I am suspecting a pattern of behaviour here. While they were away, I quicklty checked the nest for an egg........ still not laid yet. I discovered that there are two cavities to the nest. The lower nest cavity goes deep inside the ball of of tightly woven moss and roots but just above this entrance, there is the opening to another cavity which is more of a loose hole and packed loosely with dry sphagnum moss. I have read that this is used by the none "sitting" bird, the male, while the female is incubating for example.
During the afternoon watch, I witnessed a female Sparrowhawk on two occasions. The first time it swooped in to make a kill but was unsuccessful. The second time, the bird of prey flashed past me just inches above the water and close to the bank. Could this be why the Dippers were keeping well clear of the nest site? They would present a very good target if they were caught off guard. A female Sparrowhawk consumes between 50-70 grams each day. A male Dipper weighs on average, 64 grams, a perfect size meal for a Sparrowhawk and definitely on the menu. The Dippers have every reason to be wary. Later on as I was walking back I found both birds just standing in shallow water about 300 yards from the nest area. It is the first time that I have seen this behaviour. Usually they are feeding or preening. This quiet behaviour seemed unusual and would point to a state of nervousness because of the presence of the bird of prey.
Monday 21st March
I returned to the nest area in the early afternoon, in fact at 1.35.
I quickly got myself concealed and began to wait, just 2 minutes as it happened. Both birds flew in to the boulders in front of the nest and just beneath me. It was exciting when they flew in and the impression that I got from them was that they were excited as well. There was much calling and bobbing up and down. I stayed motionless because I didn't want to betray my presence or upset them in any way. One of the birds had a beak full of nesting material including a dead leaf. This bird quickly flew up in to the nest and as it entered, made a new noise that I haven't heard before. A cross between a call and a chirp. I started to count to see if I could estimate how long this bird, which I thought at the time, was the female, was inside the nest. In the meantime the other bird remained on the boulder beneath, seemingly keeping watch. Later when I had a close look at the images taken of this bird, I noticed that there were remains of some fibres in the beak. On second thoughts, perhaps this was the female and the male was in the nest finishing off by lining the nest with oak leaves. I have read that this is the usual pattern of events. The bird outside the nest flew off after a while and the other bird, after about two minutes, emerged, and then quietly moved away, hopping from rock to rock before disappearing out of view. What happened then perplexed me to say the least. I am pretty sure that the birds were not aware of me whatsoever, but they never returned to the nest while I was there for the next 2 hours, and a bit more. In the meantime I saw them display flying and then they both flew past me and up river. While they were away, I checked the nest to see if an egg had been laid. The nest was wet inside from the parent bird but there was no egg yet. My assessment is that the nest is all but complete and there is no more building to be done. The birds were away feeding in another part of the territory. I have no way of knowing if this is normal behaviour or not.
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
One of the Dippers waiting by the nest as the other is inside doing some building.
March 20th. Discovering the Dippers Nest
I have been studying the Dippers on a nearby river here in Devon, UK for the last 4 weeks.
I have been seeing real breeding behaviour but up until today I had not been fortunate enough to discover a nest. Sat in my usual spot where I previously had been fortunate enough to see the Dippers almost constantly, it dawned on me that today, and for that matter yesterday, I hadn.t seen the Dippers as often as I had been. Their behaviour had definitely changed. I decided to walk down river to see if I could discover what they were up to. I hadn't walked more than 50 yards when I saw the very distinctive white breast of a Dipper reflecting back at me in the strong sunlight.
I made my way carefully in it's direction and managed to get myself sat quietly by the water without being seen. The Dipper moved on and so did I. Eventually, as I sat quietly and concealed, the Dipper flew past me again and back up River, I watched and it settled near to the waterfall that I have seen them on often. I spent quite a while watching and decided that they seemed to be favouring this area. I took up a position over looking the water and was thrilled to see one of the Dippers right beneath me. After it had left I quickly got myself in a position that gave me a good view. I was just a few feet away but concealed in a Gillie suit wrapped in cam netting which I had covered with hands full of Beech leaves. I was well and truly concealed. To my utter delight and amazement, both Dippers returned to the rock just below, one carrying root fibres. After some hesitation, it flew under a hover-hang and then emerged with an empty beak.......... it was nest building! It returned every 20 minutes or so for the next hour while I waited, and the process was repeated. While this was happening, the male was keeping sentry duty on a rock in mid stream. When they had both left the area I quickly went down the bank to check for the nest and discovered a "volley-ball" sized collection of old moss and roots sitting just under the bank and wedged on top of a thick root. At first I couldn't find a hole but it was tucked almost underneath and towards the back of the nest, just as I had read would be the case. I had to use a massive amount of self discipline and leave the area to let them get on with it. They will still be there tomorrow and for the next month in fact, and it's going to be just fantastic to observe them breeding.
20-MAR-2011
Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
Here, the female seems to be hesitating before she flies up to the nest to place her "root". I have read that nests can be under construction for as long as 28 days. This is easily understood if so much time is taken over one tiny piece.