﻿The Dipper in Colorado 



By EVAN LEWIS 



IN 1891 I found on Bear Creek seven nests of the Dipper within a little 

 over a mile of the canon. All were placed where they could be reached 

 only by long ladders or ropes. The creek was high and dangerous, so all 

 nests were supposed to be perfectly safe ; and, as this was May 30, the young 

 birds should have been flying in a few days. 



In 1894 I again went up Bear Creek Canon, but not an Ouzel or nest 

 was to be seen where they were quite numerous three years before. 



DIPPER AND NEST 

 Photographed by Evan Lewis, at Idaho Springs. Colo.. May 23. 190? 



Nests were seen twenty miles farther up stream, but as they were easily 

 reached, and trout fishing was there carried on daily, it is almost safe to 

 presume that no young birds were reared there. One pair built under a 

 bridge on Chicago Creek, and, as the water ran very swift and cold within a 

 foot of the nest, they always succeeded in bringing out their brood. 



For nesting material Dippers seem to prefer moss, but if moss is not 

 available they use grass roots, which they obtain under the water. When 

 started, the nest is a ring of nesting material, with the bare rock on which it 

 is placed in the center. The nest proper is placed inside after the dome is 

 completed and is usually made of leaves, though other material is sometimes 



do) 



