#funfactfriday Take a look at this bird - where do you think it likes to live?
Bet you didn't say 'in a creek'!!
The American Dipper is the only aquatic songbird in North America and hunts aquatic insects and very small fish by 'dipping' itself in and out of the water at a stream edge. Dippers can swim quite well both above and below the water's surface- above the water they swim a bit like ducks, and below the surface they will use their wings to propel themselves forward as they walk along the creek bottom. Their nests are even right near the water, often behind waterfalls or tucked in behind large streamside boulders.
Check out the video in our Story for a super cool video from the Portland Audubon Society of an American Dipper foraging for its lunch in a creek!
Photo by Braden J. Judson