Dipper

Dipper on the River Kent, Kendal

This one is for Who am I to disagree (= Longshanks) who dipped on dipper when he visited Kendal a few months back. He didn't seem minded to agree that dippers were found on the Kent, so here's the proof.

Birders' jargon for missing a rare bird is dipping. Longshanks and his close friend The Red Coated Birder don't often dip on birds, but they did dip on the Kent dipper. I've given up chasing rare birds (beyond a 20 mile radius), but when I did I was a frequent dipper, and I've been dipping all week on otters in the Kent and at Leighton Moss. I was there on the Kent again today, downstream of the Romney Bridge, and I dipped again - but at least was consoled by this dipper, perched on a rock midstream, and singing his surprisingly musical little song.

Dippers are birds of fast flowing streams and rivers, particularly numerous therefore in the uplands of Britain. They are handsome birds with their chocolate plumage and white bibs. The name refers perhaps to their bobbing action as they perch out of water, but equally could refer to their feeding action when they dip below the water level to hunt invertebrates and small fish on the river bottom. I haven't checked how many dipper species are found elsewhere in the world, but I do recall seeing a large brown, bibless dipper in upland India years ago - filling precisely the same niche.

On other matters, I am much better today for a good rest yesterday. Thanks for all the good wishes.