Morning Dippers

(Sunday 24^th August, 2025)

   

Over to Loggerheads Country Park this still, warm morning (21°C), where we saw a pair of Dippers. As I’ve stated previously, the River Alyn disappears from the surface a short way downstream from the picnic area, but continues to flow underground.[1] Upstream, however, the water still flows sufficiently enough to attract the White-throated dippers, more commonly referred to as just Dippers. These plump, short-tailed birds are very distinctive: mature Dippers have a black back, dark brown wings and tail, and chestnut head and belly, with a completely contrasting white throat and bib. It’s very difficult to tell the sexes apart, although we suspect that these two were a pair, each patrolling overlapping stretches of the river.

Watching them perform their up-and-down bobbing on rocks surrounded by water was fascinating: frankly, it was comical! One of the Dippers submerged itself in the water, presumably seeking food, although I missed this as I was watching its mate further downstream.

Wandering further down the Leete path, we saw several piled logs, which were presumably laid down deliberately to attract insects. A Wren seemed to be making the most of the grubs and larvae, skipping quickly along the rotting branches and in the undergrowth.

Male and female Wrens look very similar, so we’re not sure which sex this was, but what a lovely bird. The Wren is rotund (not unlike the Dipper) and brown, but with very distinctive markings: note the brown and white barring on the wings and the short tail, which is often held erect. At one point, a Robin appeared nearby, probably guarding its territory from the Wren’s incursion, though I’m pleased to say that there was no squabbling!

   

We sat at the benches which are a little further along the path, where we saw several Small white butterflies collecting nectar from the numerous Great willowherb flowers in the woods. As we returned to the picnic area, through the tree canopy we saw a Common buzzard floating high above the cliffs – we’d heard its high-pitched mewling before we saw it. At the wild garden, a (female) Green-veined white butterfly posed for the camera – the females usually have two spots on their cream-coloured forewings.

The important stuff

After the morning’s exhaustions, we were in dire need of nourishment so, luckily for us, the café – Caffi Florence – was handily situated nearby. Customary cappuccinos were accompanied by a Strawberry and Almond slice (Col), and Coffee and Walnut cake (Stu). Suitably fortified, we were heading back to the car when we noticed a pair of House martins darting in and out from under the roof of the end building. We looked up and saw two well-constructed nests, although only one appeared to be in use. Stu pointed his camera lens upwards and got a couple of shots of the chicks that the parent birds were delivering food to.

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[1] See The River Vanishes, Sunday 27^th July