This little dear was splashing around in one of our ponds today. I grabbed the binoculars to get a better look. At first I thought it was a duck, no, too small. Then I thought it was a wren bathing but it seemed too big. Then It dove under water. Wha?
I quickly got my camera and a sweater and scooted out in my slippers to see if I could snap a few. The body colouring was plain, grey-brown body dappled with some light streaks and the head and breast were a warmer brown. It had a pale cream-yellow beak and flesh coloured legs. It bobbed almost constantly and liked to keep it's tail perked up like a wren. It was about the size of a towhee without the tail.
I was watching it stick it's head under water and swim for short but energetic moments and then it did the most curious thing: It dove under water, flapped it's wings and flew under water for about four feet before hopping back up on a floating branch. A swimming, diving, flying under water wren? It later flew into the creek and hunted about for food there as well.
I couldn't get close enough to get any good shots and the telephoto setting pretty sad on my camera
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I saw one once in Killarney Creek, bobbing its little head up and down very fast as it stood on a submerged rock in a deep pool of slowly moving water. I watched him for a while but when he caught sight of me, he walked away under water. Walked away on the bottom, Marcus.
That is so cool. It's the Jesus-bird. Actually better than that, he only walked on the water, so really, Jesus is the Dipper-human. Except Jesus' diet probably did not consist of water dwelling insect larvae.
Backgound:
North American Dipper (an endangered species dontcha know) due to the more predatory expansion of the artificially introduced neoconservasaurus which was developed in a media lab from the fossilized remains of aynrandypus-crapicus and Hitler's left testicle.
It's all true. You couldn't make this shit up...
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