Distillery Dippers

I was very fortunate to be able to find a project in 2022. I’ve been aware of dippers on the burn near my house and often seen them flying up and down the burn while out walking. I decided to film them and make a video for the Scottish Nature Photography Awards in 2022.

Being close at hand was a real advantage and I made a decision to film them everyday, morning and evening whatever the weather.

At the end of March I checked to see if they had started to rebuild last years nest. There was evidence of activity and I set up on the upside of the bridge. The pair appeared with wet moss and other nest materials on a regular basis. It was difficult to know whether I was filming the male or female as there is no difference in the colour to help me determine.

The nest building went on for several days and then the activity slowed.

I was fairly sure that they were now on eggs and waited till they were both away to check the nest. I found there were four eggs in the nest and left so as not to disturb.The parents came back fairly quickly and settled down on the eggs.

It was now a waiting game for the eggs to hatch. By mid April it was obvious that the eggs had hatched as I could hear the chicks and the parents were flying in and out repeatedly all day with beaks full of food.

During this time I managed to film one of the pair swimming and diving underwater for food.

Now the second wait for the fledging of the chicks. It should take about three weeks and I managed to be there as they fledged, mid May.

The chicks quickly spread along the burn, all four were out but I could only see three. They are very easy to approach when first out and I was photographing a group of three. Where was the forth one? I looked down and the forth one was sitting between my feet!

I managed to film them for a few days before they disappeared into the undergrowth along the burn.

Three months work and a hard drive full  (40hrs) of video to turn into two and a half minutes video for the Scottish Nature Photography Awards.

It was all worth it as the video won the competition that year.