American Dippers are aquatic songbirds that feed in fast-flowing mountain streams, capturing all their food by walking under the water on the stream bottom, by swimming, or by picking insects off the surface. They are sometimes seen in the city on Fish Creek, the Elbow River, or even on the Bow in the winter, but are more common west of the city where they breed.
Tony LePrieur captured these fantastic shots of a Dipper seen from water level at Elbow Falls, west of Bragg Creek, on December 24. The first photo shows the nictitating membrane which protects the eye when the bird is submerged. Tony lay in the ice-cold water and on the ice for two hours to get these shots!
American Dipper, Elbow Falls, December 24, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
American Dipper, Elbow Falls, December 24, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
To see more of Tony’s photos, go to his Flickr page.
What superb Dipper photos and such dedication!
Way to go Tony — awesome shots! Freezing your #*+! off paid big dividends!
Congrats Tony for the beautiful shots,
I’ll bet the Christmas turkey was thawed out before Tony was! Fantastic shots!
wow, a dedicated photographer !