When I arrived at the nest this morning, I crept in to the hide quietly and I expected to see the male Dipper waiting in front of the nest as normal. I have to admit that it started to frighten me when 15 minutes later I was still Dipperless! Was everything OK, I was just a little bit concerned. I was relieved when I heard the male approaching, fast and low as normal. He landed opposite with his usual noisy fanfare with a beak full of Mayfly. He flew to the nearest boulders just under the nest and called, bobbing incessantly but didn't fly up with the insects. I suspected that the female wasn't in the nest but I was wrong because out she came. She did a bit of dipping and then left upstream followed by the male. There wasn't a lot different to see, she was away for the usual 8 minutes, he returned and sang as normal. Just a few more days to go now before the eggs hatch and the only thing to report of note is the massive increase in insect life. It's also worth mentioning that in the hour that I was watching, the fem ale left to feed twice, the same pattern that I observed the day before yesterday.