I often see dippers in local creeks and along the lakeshore—for me, the dipper has almost become a yard bird. Yet, in all the time I have watched dippers as they incessantly dived for comestibles, I have only occasionally seen any of them meet with success: one time with a grub; another time with a kokanee fish egg.
Today’s dipper was much more successful—it captured the fry of a rainbow trout.
The dipper surfaced with the fry of a distinctly disconsolate rainbow trout. 
However, the story is even more interesting than merely a dipper capturing a fry. The rainbow fry was too big for the dipper to easily swallow. Clasped athwart its bill, the fish had to be rotated so that it would align with the throat and be swallowed whole. But, every time the dipper tried to swing its head to flip the fish into the proper alignment for swallowing, the fish was dropped.
Sometimes the fumbled fry landed in the water and the dipper dived for it again.
Sometimes the fry landed on the rock, from which it was easily retrieved.
The dipper failed to swallow the fish during a half-dozen tries. Yet, one really curious aspect of the interaction is seen in the fry’s caudal fin (its tail). The upper part of it is missing. It seems the dipper snipped it during the first encounter as a way of preventing the fish from escaping.
So, did the dipper ever manage to swallow the fry of the rainbow trout? Alas, I don’t know; it tired of the game and finally flew off with the fish athwart its bill.
Awesome sequence, Alistair !! This is so different and enlightening. It’s even got it’s own chuckles included. Like flying off to town to get help breaking his catch down into useable size 🙂
Thanks again for sharing ! !
Bill, off to town to get help—chuckle. I suspect the dipper will have alighted on a snowbank. This would have allowed it to orient the fish for swallowing in a way that was difficult in flowing water or by flipping it. This was certainly a study in frustration: The bird had captured its best meal in a long time, but how to swallowing it?
Oh Alistair. What you deliver us. Is there not a corollary here? You father of our eye’s nutrition; our spirit’s
hard-won sustenance. I’m only always amazed.
Alistair…you’ve outdone yourself with these dipper with fish images…simply magnificent! I can see every feather of that bird…what a gift you are to our eyes! Many thanks.
You’ve outdone yourself again! I am always amazed.