Several Dipper Dives at Half Speed
Nov 19, 2014 | Birds, Dipper
- This video of an American Dipper diving and feeding shows it turning over pieces of wood and grabbing the aquatic insects residing on the underside of the wood.
- Notice the coho salmon towards the back of the pool. This video was taken on November 15 so in this stream this would be the tail end of the run.
- Coho salmon typically stay in the stream after spawning until their death.
- Think about the reason why the dipper is concentrating on feeding within the pile of debris.
- What would be some of the benefits for other creatures of coho spawning just before winter sets in?
- Since this is the end of the salmon spawning season many of the aquatic insects that normally live within the gravel areas would have been displaced by the spawning salmon.
- Since salmon do not spawn within woody debris piles this would be a safe place for aquatic insects to live.
- Also some aquatic insects prefer woody debris.
- Coho salmon carcasses are often frozen within the stream as winter approaches. During our occasional winter thaws the carcasses then become available to other creatures at a time when food is scarce.
