Dippers on the Aros Estuary

Dippers have always been a bogey bird for me, so to see one on the river as we arrived at our holiday cottage was a good omen that I may lay this shortcoming to rest once and for all. The front garden of Riverside Cottage is on the banks of the River Aros, just below the old and "new" road bridges and is real Dipper habitat. Two birds were in residence, I couldn't call them a pair as they were constantly driving one another off the patch. However, during the second week of our stay, a third bird turned up and the attitudes of the original birds changed dramatically, now they tolerated each other's company and even at times displayed to each other with beaks pointing upward and high speed wing fluttering. The third bird was given short shrift and made to keep his distance.

River Aros below the road bridges

Right fork - adjacent to the Salen -Tobermory road
 

The left fork - real Dipper territory

 

Love or War - not sure!

A mixed diet of caddis, flounder and trout.

 

 

A replete bird!



Upstream, the River Aros remains good for Dippers