I stopped off at Daglingworth this afternoon, hopeful of seeing the great grey shrike once more, but no birders were there neither was the bird! It had apparently been showing well during the morning so may be worth a return visit.
Being only a short drive from Stroud I decided to visit the Frome banks nature reserve, by the Waitrose car park in Stroud in the expectation of seeing a dipper, always a welcome addition to my bird list. As I approached the town, I could see a dark cloud coming up, and it looked set to rain. It had been sunny and there was a double rainbow viewable from the car park. However, it would be relatively sheltered along the river, so I donned my coat and after paying the required car park fee, made my way down the steps, across the road into the reserve, across the bridge and along the canal until I reached the start of the river. As expected it was muddy so I took care as I walked the length of the reserve, looking out for the bobbing action of a dipper along the bank and on the various tree roots which jutted out into the fast flowing water. The only brown I spotted was, however, a tiny wren, which quickly hid itself in the undergrowth.
Retracing my steps, the first spots of rain began falling, which quickly became heavier. It was then I spotted the dipper on the opposite side of the stream, its pale throat showing up amongst the dark edge of the bank behind. Now I had found it, I decided I may as well get wet! Sheltering beneath the trees and protecting my camera as best I could, I managed a few photos. The dipper kept up its bobbing motion, often jumping off its perch into the water to feed, although not always submerging and at one time flying over to the my side of the river before disappearing off downstream. Eventually the rain eased off and I walked back to the car to make my journey home. A few shots of the dipper taken through the rain are below!
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