WHITE-CAPPED DIPPER
In the mountains of western North America we have the American Dipper, and probably all who are reading this have seen one. In the Andes Mountains of South America, from Venezuela into Bolivia, there is the White-capped Dipper. I have seen one every time I’ve been to Ecuador, including after having moved here just over 8 months ago. However, it took me all that time to find one in the Loja Province where I live.
Many birders keep various lists - Life lists, State Lists, County Lists, Year List, etc etc. I enjoy such, trying to beat the odds of accumulating a list in a described area. And so I have lists for the country of Ecuador and also for the few provinces where I’ve been. I now have over 230 species in the Loja Province. I’ve been on many hikes along rivers which are seemingly perfect dipper habitat, and I was beginning to conclude that the White-capped Dipper was simply my jinx bird. That is, until Thursday, December 12, 2024.
The 2004 Vitara I bought had this funky security system which was a royal pain in the rear end. Each time I wanted to start the car I’d have to press 6 buttons on the key fob. When I turned the car off, within 30 seconds the car automatically locked. It used to have a loud alarm when it sensed something was amiss, but I dismantled that. I finally found someone who could replace the security system, but he needed a few hours to do so. So I texted Charlie, a birding/photographer friend from town, to see if he might want to go birding and try to photograph a few birds during that time. He said he needed some “Photography Therapy” and all he then wanted was for me to pick a destination to go.
I thought about it overnight and when he picked me up, I suggested we go hike up the road/trail along the Yangana River, about 10 miles away. Rosie and I had walked here a few months back, a nice shady jaunt along a small river. The level walk started out as a road but ended up becoming a trail, which led to a family property and beyond. I remarked to Charlie this was “perfect” dipper habitat.
We enjoyed the ambiance of the quietness with a few bird songs to spice things up. A male Summer Tanager began singing incessantly, but we could not find him, even though he was almost right next to us. We only saw him when he flew off, his gleaming red body easy to follow. A few Brown-capped Vireos were not cooperative to have their photos taken, but we finally managed to accomplish the “feat.”
As part of the trail was getting muddy, we went through the “gate” to avoid the mud and ended up walking toward the only house out this far. When we were about 150 feet from it, we could detect a few birds in the trees above the river now below us, so stopped to ID them. In short order the owner came over and we had a nice visit. I ended up showing him a picture of a dipper and he affirmed they were in the river. I was about to ask him if Torrent Ducks were there also, but he beat me to it, relaying that they were even farther up the river.
So we went back to the river and kept heading upstream. We finally came to a place where we could go no farther because there was no more trail. I decided that if I got onto the gravel bed in the middle of the river I’d be able to see farther upstream, trying for one last ditch effort to find a dipper. I had to gingerly pick my way on exposed stones to get to it.
Once on the gravel bar I saw it - there was a dipper right in front of me. I don’t know how I missed him, but due to the dark water with plenty of white rushing parts, the black and white bird tends to blend in. He was not more than 10 feet from me, so I froze in my tracks. Being so close I was just sure he’d flush, but he didn’t. I did not feel I could even turn around to tell Charlie who stayed on the bank. In about 30 seconds I felt I could slowly lower myself to the ground so as to not appear threatening, and the bird miraculously seemed to ignore me, hopping from stone to stone looking for food.
Luckily he was about 125 feet downstream, so we began forming strategies to get close again. We found him on a dead branch some 3 feet over the water, a rather unusual perch for a dipper. I took a few more distant photos, but ended up circling wide around him, and then crawled close so that I was about 15 feet away. Those shots were better.
After a bit he again flew downstream and this time I made sure Charlie went first so he could be the one getting close. We found him maybe 100 feet further down, and Charlie began taking pics at his leisure while I sat on a log getting rehydrated and looking over my second round of pics. Five minutes later he was still in shooting mode, and it looked like he was awfully close, so I snuck up behind him to where I could take more pics, which worked out just fine.
All the time while watching him, I only saw him dip his head into the water once. I’m used to seeing the American Dipper go totally under and come up a few feet away. So maybe the habits of this dipper are a little different. Here are a few shots of American Dippers I took a few years ago:
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| AMERICAN DIPPER |
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| AMERICAN DIPPER |
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| AMERICAN DIPPER |
After another minute or two of bursts he flew downstream. We decided we had bothered him enough and made no further efforts to photograph him. We’d catch up with him along the bank a couple more times before he flew the opposite direction finally. It was almost ironic that farther downstream we found another one.
So that bird is no longer on the unfound list for Loja. On the flip side, it is beneficial to have a few jinx birds, ones you just cannot find. You know they are out there and so are motivated to get out and find them. I suppose I’ll not run out of those kind here in Ecuador. There are over 1600 species in the country and with 900 on my list, I have plenty more to find as I live out my life here. And, by the way, my car security system is no longer to be loathed. The key fob only locks and unlocks the car. Phew!
Charlie Renideo has become a good friend and we’ve been out birding and photographing a few times now. He probably has as much photography experience as I do birding, so we compliment each other, and he has given me some good tips for getting better pictures. The photos that follow are his and used with his permission:
