Derbyshire Dippers.

Yes I know it sounds a bit like "Chicken Dippers", but it has nothing to do with Chikens. It is about the Dipper, a totally different kind of bird altogether! This was our annual family holiday again to Derbyshire. It was slightly different this time however as we had come later in the year to what we normally do. And with this in mind I was very hopeful of finding young Dippers out and about and being fed by the parents.

This proved to be the case rather sooner than I was expecting as on the Monday we popped into Bakewell and right there in the town was a well grown fledgling being fed by an adult. I had not even started to look for Dippers yet and here one was, so things were looking good. From there we all went just up the road from Bakewell to Rowlesley and to Cauldwell Mill where we had visited before and I had seen Dippers behind the mill and photographed them. First of all we decided to have lunch. The restaurant at the mill sits right alongside a fast flowing side stream. I sat by the window looking out onto the strem and saw a Dipper flash by. A short while later my son saw one flash by so I started watching a bit more intently. Moments later another one appeared only this time it settled a few yards up-stream with food in its beak.

Obviously it must have had a nest nearby and I was intrigued to see where it went. That was soon answered as it flew up to a ledge on the wall right opposite the window to the nest!. It looked so obvious now but they make their nest so well out of moss that is nearly impossible to see them until they go to it. So once we had finished lunch I got the camera and stood outside for a while and took a few shots as both parents came back and forth feeding the young in the nest. I also got some nice film as my camerea can also film in High Definition too. To be honest I thought that it was a bit of a gimmick before I bought the camera, but I was truly amazed by the results and actually found it a very handy feature to have just to get a record of things for later use.

It was good to see the Dippers feeding at the nest but I was hoping to get some shots of feeding going on in the open, obviously to fledged birds. The following day I did get one or two shots of just this at a river I had found a nest at last time we were here. It was a dull day though so I was hopeing for some better light on another day. Two days later the forcast for that morning was good and as luck would have it my Wifes' parents had come across a gold mine for Dippers on a previous days walk.

They had said that where they had been they had seen about a dozen or more Dippers both young and old, so that is where I headed on this first sunny morning. It was a stunning place and to be there at first light and to see the sun finally find its way into the dale and along the river was a sight to behold. And yes there were indeed Dippers. Plenty of them!

The lengh of the bit of river I walked was about three miles long so it involved a total of about six miles walking there and back. But what a piece of river it was. It had everything from grassy low meadow land through to woodland and then climbing above the river and into a deep gorge. Some parts were fairly slow moving with some good stretches of fast water. It was just ideal for Dippers. It wasn't just Dippers either. I also saw several Grey Wagtail, lots of different Warblers, two Spotted Fly-Catchers, a brood of wild Mandarin Duck, a female Goosander, Tufted Duck, a Water Vole and I also saw a Tawney Owl in one of the woodland areas. There were also several Orange Tip Butterflies about too and a rather obliging Carrion Crow at the start of my walk.

As for the Dippers I saw about fifteen individuals including three fledged broods and was able to get several shots of the young being fed and some lovely close shots of the adults sitting aroung preening and some shots of them hunting. I noticed that several of the young had already been rung and some of the adults too had rings on. It was good to see they were obviously being carefully monitored. Several times I watched as they came out of the water with Caddis Fly larvae in the cases and proceeded to bash them to get them out. They really are a fantastic bird to just sit and watch. I also watched a territorial dispute going on with two rival birds chasing each other in and out of their territories and then display singing. They really do have a beautiful song.

It was good to see healthy, well grown broods and it was quite evident that it was just the male feeding so the hen bird would have already been sitting on a second clutch of eggs. I had got more than enough shots by the time I got back to where I had started from so I didn't need to go out anymore to get other shots but of course over the next couple of days I did get more shots, but spent more time just watching and taking in the stunning scenery. It had been a good holiday and I had had a great time photographing and watching the Dippers of Derbyshire.