Dipper + Blue Tit

A pair of equally tempting blips taken in the Ardennes as we headed to Lille for our late afternoon train to Paris. I solved the dilemma by combining the blips.

Viewed from a bridge, the blue tit (Parus caeruleus)was repeatedly returning to this cavity. It was unclear to me for what purpose, though it is holding a thin filament in its bill here (and in another sequence it's carrying what could be nest material--it could well be nesting here).

We had the dipper Cinclus cinclus) further along on our drive. It's the European or white-throated dipper--one of five species of dipper in the world. They are the only small perching bird that can swim--they feed in rushing streams on insects and other small organisms. In North America we have the American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus). A blipper from Finland who has posted dippers is Timon. They are not easy to see even when regularly around.

From Lille we were back in our Paris apartment in a bit less than two hours. The ride to the Garde du Nord was about an hour; we had cheap first class tickers booked weeks ago, and I sat comfortably at my laptop to prepare this blip. French trains are wonderful!