In early autumn I photographed the final journey of the returning salmon. A plethora of wildlife benefits from the spawning salmon. After hours of walking up and down a river, I took a rest on the bank.
A slate-grey songbird was flitting along the rocks at the river's edge. I reached for my camera, expecting to photograph an ordinary songbird. Suddenly, the bird walked right into the water and disappeared. I scrambled to adjust my camera settings, completely shocked at what I had just seen. The aptly named dipper resurfaced with a fish-fry. I snapped my shutter as the bird proceeded to stun the fish on a rock before eating it whole. After the meal it alighted on a tall rock, closer to me. The dipper seemed to stare right down the lens. Then it blinked, revealing white eyelids! The bird continued downstream stopping to sing a beautiful varied song. Except, I now knew it was no ordinary songbird. After a while it flew off to dip in another part of the river. I was fortunate to observe so much in the short time I had with this fascinating bird.