Headed up to Bridge 3 this afternoon to see if any of the birds spotted on Saturday during the dipper walk were around. Particularly wanted to see if the banded male from Bridge 3 was in proximity to the banded female (first nested down at Hersey St. 2016) from Bridge 1. Nothing at Bridge 3 except a Merlin high up in a cottonwood just upstream so I walked down to Bridge 5 . No dippers. I let the dog out of the truck and put her on her leash and we walked up toward the Granite St. reservoir. As we neared Bridge 2 I heard dipper song. Just below the bridge was the Bridge 3 male singing. I walked down to the bridge and saw the female just above the bridge. When I walked back up to the road to continue the male flew onto a rock near the female and then she joined him on the rock.

A bit further upstream  (50 meters) I encountered another dipper alone and quiet on a rock.

I then continued up past the reservoir to where the road heads up to Reeder Reservoir before heading back down to Bridge 3 parking.  Back at Bridge 3 I checked one last time as I did not see the banded pair on my return. No dippers but the Merlin was still at its post.

fdl