November 29, 2005 [LINK]

Big dipper!

During a family visit to Colorado for Thanksgiving, my brother John was lucky to get this photo of an American dipper in the town of Lyon. Dippers habituate mountain streams in the West, and are unique among songbirds in being able to swim! The entire Midwest was blanketed by a blizzard just after John, Dan, and Dad returned home; whew!

Here in the Old Dominion, it's been raining cats and dogs almost all day, and many rivers are flooded. Local bird expert Allen Larner sighted some Northern harriers and a Short-eared owl in the Bell's Lane area yesterday, so I'm going to take a look when the weather clears up.