Dipper diving for Dinner

When it comes to collecting dinner the pair of Dipper at Kennell Vale are no faint hearted souls !!  They worked quite close to each other on several occasions today but not quite close enough to get them both in focus.

The River Kennell is in full flood following the rain of the last few days and a large heavy section of tree trunk that the Dipper used to display on has been dragged off over the falls over night,

Yet these lightweight birds are somehow able grip the river bed with their long talons and pull themselves directly under the flood water of a waterfall to find Caddis fly larvae of which they require many to sustain their active life style.

They then have to break back through the surface water without losing their foothold and they don't even get wet as the water is totally rejected by their oily plumage and just runs off.

As you can see by the last image in the sequence below the Brave Dipper is just as dry as when it started and it has reaped the reward for its efforts and I'm sure it will catch many more before the day is over.           Amazing Birds !!