A dip in the creek?

  

We spent some time watching an American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) in a creek along the Oregon Coast today (5 April 2026).  I had trouble deciding which photos to share, so here are a few different views.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little dipper

  

American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) in a creek near Cape Perpetua, Oregon, on 29 October 2022.

We had fun watching this dipper while it foraged for invertebrates, both in and above the creek.  It would often fly-catch — swooping up to snatch flying insects, perhaps caddisflies:

 

 

It was so fun to see how at home the dipper was along the creek — perched on rocks in riffles, walking along submerged logs, swimming, and diving below the surface, flying upstream and over cascading falls.

Stream tones

  

Last night I introduced you to an American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus).  I spent quite a bit of time watching and trying to learn more about this unusual songbird, and struggling with somewhat challenging conditions for photography (very dark lighting).  

A description I read in the Birds of the World account online mentioned that the dipper's plumage has "earth tones," but I might adjust that slightly to say that it has "stream tones."  The dipper's brown and gray and blue coloration were a perfect match for the colors and reflections in the water.  Sometimes the dipper looked like water, other times like leaves, or rocks, or shadows.  Here are a few more photos from yesterday's visit.  [You can click on them for larger versions.]

 

 

 

The dipper had no trouble standing on slippery rocks in fast-flowing water:

 

 

 

The plumage is amazingly waterproof.  Note the smooth water flow over and around the dipper as it submerged its head and actively searched for prey:

 

 

 

I'm still processing a couple of audio files of the dipper singing, but I'll try to share those soon, too.

A dip in the creek?

  

I'll reveal more of the story soon, but I couldn't help sharing this photo of an American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) from Lagunitas Creek today (22 December 2020).  A fun birthday gift!  :)