American Dipper--The Songbird That Swims

Yellowstone 2016 cont:

I know. It's 2018, and I still haven't finished blogging about our Yellowstone trip. The past 18 months have been really crazy--our move and getting studios and homes put together took forever, and since October I've been on the road for shows as much as I've been home. Writing seems to be falling to the bottom of the priority list, but I miss it, so here we are!

After spending an afternoon with the Great Gray Owls (see previous post) we started back to the Madison campground. The southeast section of the Loop Road follows the Yellowstone River, and we stopped near the LeHardy Rapids because we'd heard there were American Dippers there. That info turned out to be correct.

American Dipper at LeHardy Rapids on the Lewis River

The dipper is a fascinating bird. While it is considered a passerine, or song bird, it spends its life in the water. It doesn't actually swim, as it lacks webbed feet, but it will completely submerge itself and work its way along the bottom of a river or stream, gleaning insect larvae and tadpoles. They have an inner eyelid, or nictitating membrane, that covers the eye underwater but allows for vision, and they have scales over their nostrils that can be closed when underwater.

We watched several birds working the near shore of the river where the rocks that made the riffles hid many juicy bits. While I had seen juvenile dippers in Alaska, this was my first look at adults in action, and it was fascinating.

While their plummage is rather dull, they do have tiny white feathers on their eyelid, which flashes when they blink. This little one was taking a nap.

Leaving the dippers we continued north, making a stop at sunset along the Hayden Valley. It was quiet this day, but ten years before I had seen my first wild wolves here.

Sunday was a day set aside for birding. Rather than go back into the park, we decided to head out to West Yellowstone and the Gallatin National Forest, and drive part of the West Yellowstone Birding Trail. We stopped at the Fir Ridge Cemetery, where the aspens were ablaze. The sky was so clear and blue it made my heart ache.

Aspens in Gallatin NF

We birded Hebgen Lake, a reservoir of the Madison created by the Hebgen Dam, where there were thousands of waterfowl, but most were too far to identify, even with my scope. Beaver ponds are more my speed anyway.

Beaver pond along the West Yellowstone Birding Trail

Past the Hebgen Dam on US 287, you'll come to a visitor's center dedicated to the 1959 earthquake and subsequent landslide. The quake, whose epicenter was 20 miles below Hebgen Lake and measured a staggering 7.2 on the Richter scale, caused the landslide downstream of the dam. 28 people, many of whom were at a campground near the slide, lost their lives. The landslide also blocked the Madison River, causing a dangerous backup of the river. Channels had to be cut into the slide, but a new lake, called Quake Lake, still formed behind the slide.

Landslide from 1959 Yellowstone earthquake

Back in Yellowstone we stopped at a picnic area along the Madison River. We'd done so much driving around and searching for wildlife that we hadn't taken any time to sit and relax and enjoy the scenery, so we parked and lounged in the autumn sun, taking a cue from a lone bison bull.

From Seward to Wasilla, Alaska Day Seven

 Alaska 2014 continued:


The drive from Seward to Wasilla was punctuated by several stops for birding. Traveling up along Turnagain Arm, a branch of Cook Inlet, we stopped at a roadside park where a creek flowed under the road, and found a pair of fledgling American Dippers sitting on a log. We never did see an adult. If you're not familiar with the dipper, it is the only aquatic songbird in the U.S.  That's right--the dipper feeds entirely on what it catches underwater clean, swift-moving streams, which is about the craziest thing I've ever heard. (If you'd like to see the bird in action, follow this link. Notice how the bird nearly always faces upstream.)

Immature American Dipper waiting for lunch.

We made another stop near Anchorage, at what I think was a ski park, and walked the trails there after having lunch. I don't recall exactly what we were looking for, but I got another great look at what was one of my target birds, the Boreal Chickadee. I'm pretty sure nothing so cute has ever lived.

Boreal Chickadee posing.

The big birding spot of the day was Westchester Lagoon in Anchorage. This pretty, public park surrounds a large pond which has a small island. It was in the 60's, sunny, but breezy. Even so, the Alaskans were out in number, dressed in shorts and t-shirts and enjoying the sun. You could tell us apart from them because we were all in jackets and long pants.

The man-made lagoon is a waterfowl sanctuary. Downdown Anchorage and the Chugach Mountains frame the park.

 Right off we got great looks at an Arctic Tern sitting on a post near the boat launch.

Arctic Tern. I love how tiny their feet are in relation to those long wings and tail.

A mother Mallard took to the water with her brood as we approached.

A Mallard hen with chicks because who doesn't love chicks? Like the sign on the Kachemak Bay boat tour said, they're all good birds.

Bill pointed out a small flock of Hudsonian Godwits resting on the shore of the island. The lighting was terrible for photos but I was excited anyway as these were a new bird for me.

Hudsonian Godwits with a Herring Gull.

While there wasn't the abundance of waterfowl that Bill would have like to have seen, what was there was pretty close to shore, probably used to being fed. I got some nice shots of a Lesser Scaup preening.

Lesser Scaup preening.

This pair of Greater Scaup floated by too.

Greater Scaup. They are differentiated from the lesser primarily by head shape as well as size.

A Gadwall also made an appearance near to shore. While none of these were new to me I was quite happy to get some really nice up-close photos.

Gadwall drake.

We finished the day with a drive up to Wasilla, where we stayed at the Best Western on Lucile Lake. After dinner I crashed on the shore, utterly worn out. The short nights and busy days were starting to get to us all. I really wanted to climb in a canoe and paddle to the middle and sleep. We saw Lesser Yellowlegs on the hotel dock and several pair of nesting Red-necked Grebe, and heard Common Loons calling from across the lake. It was a picture-perfect evening.

Next: We travel up to DENALI!!