I have been studying the Dippers on a nearby river here in Devon, UK for the last 4 weeks.
I have been seeing real breeding behaviour but up until today I had not been fortunate enough to discover a nest. Sat in my usual spot where I previously had been fortunate enough to see the Dippers almost constantly, it dawned on me that today, and for that matter yesterday, I hadn.t seen the Dippers as often as I had been. Their behaviour had definitely changed. I decided to walk down river to see if I could discover what they were up to. I hadn't walked more than 50 yards when I saw the very distinctive white breast of a Dipper reflecting back at me in the strong sunlight.
I made my way carefully in it's direction and managed to get myself sat quietly by the water without being seen. The Dipper moved on and so did I. Eventually, as I sat quietly and concealed, the Dipper flew past me again and back up River, I watched and it settled near to the waterfall that I have seen them on often. I spent quite a while watching and decided that they seemed to be favouring this area. I took up a position over looking the water and was thrilled to see one of the Dippers right beneath me. After it had left I quickly got myself in a position that gave me a good view. I was just a few feet away but concealed in a Gillie suit wrapped in cam netting which I had covered with hands full of Beech leaves. I was well and truly concealed. To my utter delight and amazement, both Dippers returned to the rock just below, one carrying root fibres. After some hesitation, it flew under a hover-hang and then emerged with an empty beak.......... it was nest building! It returned every 20 minutes or so for the next hour while I waited, and the process was repeated. While this was happening, the male was keeping sentry duty on a rock in mid stream. When they had both left the area I quickly went down the bank to check for the nest and discovered a "volley-ball" sized collection of old moss and roots sitting just under the bank and wedged on top of a thick root. At first I couldn't find a hole but it was tucked almost underneath and towards the back of the nest, just as I had read would be the case. I had to use a massive amount of self discipline and leave the area to let them get on with it. They will still be there tomorrow and for the next month in fact, and it's going to be just fantastic to observe them breeding.