Back when we were camping in our truck camper with the kids above Silverton, Colorado, we saw our first dipper.
We saw this cute bird that kept submerging himself in the icy cold, rushing waters of South Mineral Creek, jumping from rock to rock inbetween. He was easy to identify as a "dipper."
I've been trying to find good photographic spots around Breckenridge. (Yes, I know all of Breckenridge is scenic, but I've been trying to find magic, undiscovered places.)
I went up a road called Tiger Run and had found a creek that has areas with running, unfrozen water.
I'd been intrigued by the areas with running water surrounding rocks with caps of snow.
We've startled a beaver and watched him quickly dive out of site. One morning there was a mallard couple swimming and foraging. And we've consistently seen a dipper in this area.
I've had opportunites on three different days to photograph the dipper that frequents this area. None of the photos are competition quality. But I've had more fun watching. The first day he spent a lot of time running along the ice along the edge of the creek.
I had a lot of fun watching him fish one day. At the base of a beaver dam, I watched him catch a small fingerling trout. He bounced it on the ice until it quit wriggling and then swallowed it whole.
It is fun to watch him hop out of the water after he has been foraging on the bottom. Sure looks cold to me!
Today I watched him flip rocks searching for food underneath them. The fun ended when another dipper flew in. My dipper chirped and began to chase the intruder away. I saw him land some distance upstream. The visibility for viewing is not as good there. So I gave up for the day.
Because we know this dipper feeds here regularly, I will come by regularly in hopes that one day I'll get the right lighting, a good photogenic position, and perhaps even the catching of a fish! Whether I ever get an award winning photo of this cute creature, I get a lot of enjoyment spotting him and observing him.
Visiting the different wildlife refuges, we have learned that often you will see certain birds (or other animals) at the same area each time you visit or make the "rounds." Once we found the spot in the creek where the dipper was feeding, we saw him regularly there. And of course, we kept going back both to enjoy watching him and for me to try to get that award winning photo. The weather in Breckenridge this year was cold and snowy. I kept hoping for a day that would have just the right combination of sun angle or high light clouds. I wanted photos of the dipper with enough lighting for a sharp, crisp photo and with the lighting at my back so I was not shooting into the sun and fighting the silhouette effect. I had one more chance with better lighting. I put my teleconverter on and spent probably an hour moving upstream with the dipper. While these are not "prize winning" or commercial quality shots, I am pleased, because I got a set of intimate shots of a very shy creature. Plus I got the enjoyment of watching his antics. I was so surprised to see him disappear underneath the ice at the edges of the water. I even saw him go under an ice bridge and surface on the other side. Because I spent so many days watching and observing, I feel an affinity with this individual dipper. I find myself searching other icy creek beds hoping for a glimpse of another dipper. 
