- Dec 05 2:47 pm
#34251
Previously I had only seen Dippers at the Capilano Hatchery where there is a "Wanted" poster with a photo of one on it. A Birder I met in Maplewood was a stream guardian for Stoney Creek in Burnaby and he said that some have been seen there. Someone else said that she had seen them eating Salmon eggs there.
So I've been checked the place occasionally. A couple of weeks ago, the creek smelled of dead fish as many Chum Salmon carcasses were on the banks rotting after spawning. Didn't see any bears, though. Maybe it's too late to see a bear. Nor did I see any Dippers.
A couple of days ago, I went again and found a pair. The first one I saw from some distance away as it was wading in the Brunette River near where Stoney Creek merges with it. The trail is elevated, about 20 feet above the water levels.
I closed the distance to the Dipper and took some photos, looking down on it. It looked up at me, then casually walked behind a shrub on the river bank. The water was high and running fast.
Undeterred, I walked further down the path (downstream) and found a way down to the water level, near where I thought the Dipper was. As I neared the water level, I saw a Dipper go floating past me downstream. I moved to the edge to see where it went and flushed another which had not been visible from the path. This second bird flew downstream to join the other Dipper. I wondered if there were more and stayed at that location for a few minutes.
I was just about to leave when both Dippers flew past me to land upstream at the confluence of the Brunette and Stoney Creek. This time I had a good view of them. They had no difficulty wading in the fast moving water. I saw one grab something from the water and I think it was Salmon carcass detritus. That is, they weren't eating eggs in my presence, but parts of floating dead Salmon carcasses.
The interesting behaviour I noticed was their mode of movement. They simply let go of the river bottom and floated like a leaf downstream. When they do this in fast moving water, they are very difficult to see. Also, Salmon fry (in the Spring) migrate downstream in a similar manner. Hence, if the Dippers behave this way, they may end up in the same places as tasty fry. I watched the pair of Dippers repeat this behaviour several times. Of course they had to fly to return upstream. They didn't seem particularly disturbed by my presence. I was close enough to take some frame-filling photos (but had to set my camera to ISO 2500).
So I've been checked the place occasionally. A couple of weeks ago, the creek smelled of dead fish as many Chum Salmon carcasses were on the banks rotting after spawning. Didn't see any bears, though. Maybe it's too late to see a bear. Nor did I see any Dippers.
A couple of days ago, I went again and found a pair. The first one I saw from some distance away as it was wading in the Brunette River near where Stoney Creek merges with it. The trail is elevated, about 20 feet above the water levels.
I closed the distance to the Dipper and took some photos, looking down on it. It looked up at me, then casually walked behind a shrub on the river bank. The water was high and running fast.
Undeterred, I walked further down the path (downstream) and found a way down to the water level, near where I thought the Dipper was. As I neared the water level, I saw a Dipper go floating past me downstream. I moved to the edge to see where it went and flushed another which had not been visible from the path. This second bird flew downstream to join the other Dipper. I wondered if there were more and stayed at that location for a few minutes.
I was just about to leave when both Dippers flew past me to land upstream at the confluence of the Brunette and Stoney Creek. This time I had a good view of them. They had no difficulty wading in the fast moving water. I saw one grab something from the water and I think it was Salmon carcass detritus. That is, they weren't eating eggs in my presence, but parts of floating dead Salmon carcasses.
The interesting behaviour I noticed was their mode of movement. They simply let go of the river bottom and floated like a leaf downstream. When they do this in fast moving water, they are very difficult to see. Also, Salmon fry (in the Spring) migrate downstream in a similar manner. Hence, if the Dippers behave this way, they may end up in the same places as tasty fry. I watched the pair of Dippers repeat this behaviour several times. Of course they had to fly to return upstream. They didn't seem particularly disturbed by my presence. I was close enough to take some frame-filling photos (but had to set my camera to ISO 2500).
- By GMcD
- By stumblingpiper