Watching the river flow

As the weather improved after lunch I suddenly decided to go t=down to the river at Capel's Mill viaduct, where the River Frome flows through a constricted channel close to the town centre. I always hope to see a kingfisher when I go there, and I often do, but I wasn't surprised when I drew a blank today.

But as soon as I reached the ruins of the old mill race, where the water still drops down over the remains of the stone weir I took my camera out of its bag. I looked up to see two white-throated dippers fly up to the small moss covered rocks in the middle of the river just in front of me. I managed a couple of shots before the flew on to the footbridge where they have a nest beneath the walkway. 

I stayed for a while just enjoying the sound of the river tumbling over the rocks but only had another short glimpse of the dippers as they fed on the sandy 'beach' near the bridge. A wagtail posed briefly and many woodland birds sang sweetly. I think the wildlife has been affected by the  recent management of the wooded glades along the river banks', cutting back their cover quite radically. It will grow back but in the meantime the thinning of the cover may well have affected the wildlife's sense of security.