Nest Building (Monday 2nd March 2015)

Since witnessing dippers on the short stretch of the Marden I now refer to as the Dipper Marden, I have been back a few times hoping for a better view. I wanted to see one bobbing up and down on a river rock, and there is one rock close to a bridge with evidence of dipper activity that would enable quite a decent shot, were there to be a dipper on it.

When I arrived at the bridge, there was no dipper present but I did see a kingfisher almost immediately, and as I walked along the river side I was pleased to come across a pair of swans.

It has been several years since there was a swan in Calne's town centre, though I believe there may be some in outlying areas that occasionally come close. I have heard of a pair at Blackland that have been on stretches of the river nearer to the southerly end of the town, and two have been seen in Berhills Farm and Castlefields on rare occasion, but not by me. I'm told that this pair may be the same pair that have lived and bred for several years at Hazeland Mill, which lies on the Marden between Calne and Chippenham and is only half a mile or so from this spot by river.

Whilst the pen swan was searching for food, the cob was busily collecting  lengthy twigs and storing them at the side of the river, evidently preparing a nest, and I felt privileged to be allowed to witness this special activity.

When I returned to the bridge, having disturbed the heron along the way, there was still no dipper on the stone, but one did fly out from under the bridge and sped away downstream.

L.
6.3.2015 (1050 hr)

Blip #1515 (#1765 including archived blips)
Consecutive Blip #008
Day #1804
LOTD #750 (#870 including archived blips)

A Walk Along The Marden At Studley, 2 March 2015 (Flickr album)

Lenses: Pentax 55-300 mm x1.4 rear converter (Blip), Pentax 17-70 mm

Swan series
River Marden series
River series

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Bo Diddley - I'm A Man (recorded 2 March 1955, Chicago IL, for Chess)
Bo Diddley (vocals and guitar), Billy Boy Arnold (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Jerome Green (maracas), Willie Dixon (double bass), Frank Kirkland or Clifton James (drums).
This was Bo Diddley's first single, coupled with the song Bo Diddley, and was recorded 60 years ago from this day at his first recording session. It was inspired by Muddy Waters' recording of I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man, written by Willie Dixon, who also plays stand-up bass on this version. Bo Diddley said that the song took a long time to record due to difficulties regarding the timing of the "M, A, N" vocal chorus.
Muddy Waters released an answer record entitled Mannish Boy one month after its release, in May 1955.

One Year Ago: The Old Forge (Blossom)