Dipper or Ouzel WESTERN BIRDS 



In The Condor, volume twenty-seven, Harold C. and 

 Amy M. Bryant report finding an Ouzel's nest in Placer 

 County, California, on August 5, 1914. They tell us 

 that "a waterfall about fifteen feet in height tumbled 

 over a rocky ledge at this point into a fine large pool of 

 clear water, which was surrounded, on all but one side, 

 by perpendicular walls of rock. We were not surprised, 

 therefore, to find, on investigation, a Water Ouzel's nest 

 built in a cleft of the rock about two feet from the 

 falling stream of water. The moss of which the nest was 

 built had formerly been kept green by trickling water, 

 but at this date had begun to turn brown. ... On ap- 

 proaching the nest, one of the occupants, a well-fledged 

 Water Ouzel, fluttered from the entrance and dropped 

 down into the pool of water below. Here it immediately 

 dove and swam for a distance of six feet or more and 

 at a depth of about two feet below the surface of the 

 water. Quick, short strokes of the wings enabled the 

 bird to swim rapidly in this medium. 



"A moment later a second bird flew from the nest. 

 This one, unlike the first, did not dive, but swam about 

 on the top of the water, using its wings in the same 

 manner, however. Still another young bird remained in 

 the nest, but repeated attempts to dislodge it failed." 

 This account of the actions of the young birds is ex- 

 tremely interesting, making the readers wish this oppor- 

 tunity might have been theirs. 



One May in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Tulare 

 County, at the Hot Springs, an opportunity came to me 

 to watch these unique birds, and to even find a nest. 



Hot Springs is within the boundaries of the Sequoia 

 National Forest at an elevation of 3,200 feet. It is 

 located on Deer Creek in a rather narrow canyon, di- 

 vided by the stream and hedged in by steep, wooded, 

 brush-covered sides. It is a beautiful place in spring- 

 time, the hillsides being a mass of wonderful wild flowers, 



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