A labrador leaping into the river Frome

I drove Helena to town to catch the 8-45am bus to Gloucester so she could attend the climbing school. On the way home I stopped off near to the river Frome so I could stroll up to Capel's Mill viaduct with the hope that I might catch a glimpse of a kingfisher again.

The air was still and already warm with some sunshine coming though layers of different and gently scudding clouds. I had hoped the river would be brighter but the leaf cover is already quite thick where the Fromebanks woodlands which abut the river's banks, overhang the fast flowing water.

I have seen a kingfisher nest hole in an area of high banks where the Fuller's Earth outcrops under the harder limestone. Where the river falls over the outcropping rocks it creates irregular patches of white water, before then flowing on more slowly in wider flatter sections.

I stood quietly but there was no sign of a kingfisher. In fact I haven't seen one at this point al year, although they are definitely inhabiting the river nearby. But i was pleased to see the White-throated dipper again which came to stand on a rock in the river only a few yards from me. Unfortunately I had set the ISO on automatic in order to be able to catch a shot of a flying kingfisher, so my images are rather grainy.

I have added a couple of shots of the dipper to my Flickr gallery.

I returned to the small footbridge under the viaduct where I had filmed a pair of dippers feeding their young a months or so ago. At this point the canal, the river, the footpath and the railway viaduct all cross at about the same spot. A man arrived pushing a buggy along the path whilst walking with his young son and a black labrador. They all ignored me but I couldn't resist taking pictures of the incredibly lively dog who kept chasing the yellow tennis ball that its owner threw into the river at the old Mill site. I liked this image showing the energy of the dog as it leapt from the shallows over the gravel river beds into the deeper water just below the embankment where the kingfisher nests are.

I recommend a closer look at the dog's facial expression and lithe body, by pressing your 'L' key.