Every year I spend time in the winter following the local Dippers. This time it was different. Usually I see them every visit but it was not until the fifth visit that I was informed that there had been a pollution incident. Whilst I was devastated by the news, at least it explained why I wasn't seeing them. Usually they are displaying in January, giving a chance of a picture. However, in late February a bird was first seen then it was obviously a pair. From a selfish point of view that was excellent since we now had nearly two months of extra light to record their activities. This bird, pictured, is displaying to its partner which is flying towards it. I felt privileged to witness the courtship. |