Dippers on the Dart
Singing in the river. Shot at slow shutter speed to create a feel of movement in the rapids. Shot at 800m @ f/8, 1/20s, ISO 64
A few years back on my last day of a trip to the Scottish Highlands, I was driving down the beautiful Glen Affric when I stopped at the river rapids. I grabbed my tripod and the 24-70mm lens to take some river shots at slow shutter speed. Whilst I was setting up the tripod in the middle of the river, I spotted a little bird a mere five yards away. It was a Dipper flitting about until it saw me and fled upriver. I managed to grab a photo, but with a wide zoom lens, the Dipper turned up as a small speck in the frame. It was hard to even identify the species.
Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 400
So, I made it one of my projects for this year to capture better images of this unique bird. A good place to search for the Dipper is on Dartmoor. The Dipper is UK’s only aquatic songbird, the size of a starling. It lives in fast moving shallow and rocky waters, where it swims and dives (it can stay under water for a surprisingly long time) in search of food. It eats aquatic invertebrates. The Dipper got its name from its habit of curtseying, or bopping, up and down whilst perching on rocks in a river or stream.
Again, shot at a very slow shutter speed to accentuate the water flow. 800m @ f/10, 1/13s, ISO 64
The Dipper is territorial and will occupy a stretch of river and fend off unwelcome other Dippers. A pair will establish a nest in a confined area close to running water. These birds are dependent on clean and clear fast-moving water with ample food, hence why they thrive in Dartmoor’s rivers and streams.
Bringing nest material. Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/5000s, ISO 2000
The first step in my search for the Dipper was to identify promising river sections, and on Dartmoor there are many possible places to search for the Dipper. I chose to focus on the River Dart and spent a few days without any camera gear just walking along the river at several places away from the beaten track. I stopped frequently for long periods to listen out for the Dipper’s distinct chirp and to see if I could spot a Dipper on a stone bopping up and down in its characteristic manner.
Eventually I managed to get lower and closer to these shy birds. Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 2000
After a few unsuccessful days, I spotted a Dipper. I returned the next day with my long lens and sure enough, on the same stretch of river I saw a Dipper … possibly the same one. Thankfully this stretch of river is away from the main walking paths and thus void of walkers and dogs scaring off the birds. The Dippers turned out to be quite shy. A mere glimpse of me and they would quickly disappear down the river.
Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/640s, ISO 2800
After a few days returning to the same stretch of river I started to get into better positions for photography. The riverbanks were quite steep, so it was difficult to get low. The solution was to use the high position to compose images with plenty of water around the bird. This is after all a key part of the story of the Dipper: the rapid flowing water it thrives in.
Picking nesting material. Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/5000s, ISO 1250
I experimented with very slow shutter speeds (down to 1/10s) to capture the feel of fast flowing water. A difficult concept to pull off with an 800mm lens handheld. Camera shake is hard to avoid at such slow speeds. Also, it requires the Dipper itself to be still for a relatively long time, which again is hard to pull off as it is such an active bird endlessly ‘dipping’ and flitting about. After many failed attempts I managed to capture a few interesting images. In some instances, I would shoot two images in quick succession: One at >1/500s to freeze the bird, the one at 1/10s to capture water movement. These I then combined into one image in post-processing.
Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 1800
After several days tracking this pair of Dippers in their territory, I managed to get closer and lower, for some different compositions. The trick was to wait till the Dipper would dive, then move closer, and repeat this until I could get down to the river’s edge. Also, by getting ahead of the Dipper upstream, I could get into a hidden position and wait till it made its increasingly predicable way up the river hunting for food.
Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/5000s, ISO 1600
As always, investing time and many repeat visits increase the chance of capturing good images as you start to understand the birds’ behaviour, recognise the calls and patterns of movement. In the end I could identify individual Dippers, in particular one, with its slight scaling on the left foot. A female I think, as on one occasion she seemed to be courted by a strutting male in the middle of the rapids. This is a beautiful section of the River Dart, and I will return many more times to listen to and watch these rather sweet river inhabitants.
Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/4000s, ISO 1250
Fun Fact: The Dipper is Norway’s national bird, and there it is called ‘Fossekallen’. Very loosely translated to ‘The Maestro of the Rapids’ 😊
Very slow shutter speed … Shot at 800mm @ f/6.3, 1/10s, ISO 64
A composite image: Bird shot at 1/500s, and rapids shot at 1/10s. 800mm @ f/10, ISO 64.