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I saw a water ouzel!
Otherwise known as the American Dipper.
I love these birds. Truly, I do. What other animal spends its winters in the north country SWIMMING? We used to have them all over the place where I grew up, but this is the first time I've ever seen one in the Interior. I always assumed it was too cold here and there just wasn't enough open water. However, one of our little streams is still open despite the recent cold, and when I was walking the dogs today I saw a little gray bird flutter down and land in it. I thought, "Oh, a dipper, could it be?" And it was! There is just nothing else that looks like them. They bob up and down when they perch on something (hence the name) and they duck under the water and swim around searching for insect larvae.
They also have a pretty song, but this one wasn't singing. It was probably too cold, a dippersicle.
EDIT: Interesting article on the dipper here
I love these birds. Truly, I do. What other animal spends its winters in the north country SWIMMING? We used to have them all over the place where I grew up, but this is the first time I've ever seen one in the Interior. I always assumed it was too cold here and there just wasn't enough open water. However, one of our little streams is still open despite the recent cold, and when I was walking the dogs today I saw a little gray bird flutter down and land in it. I thought, "Oh, a dipper, could it be?" And it was! There is just nothing else that looks like them. They bob up and down when they perch on something (hence the name) and they duck under the water and swim around searching for insect larvae.
They also have a pretty song, but this one wasn't singing. It was probably too cold, a dippersicle.
EDIT: Interesting article on the dipper here
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(*cough* sorry, couldn't help it)
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but all I had intended to say was that I love those little ouzels too... saw them years ago in Montana and was totally amazed and enchanted to see them walking along the bottom of the icy little creek I was walking beside... way cool!
best to you!
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That's really cool that you've seen one of those too! Most people haven't; I think they're actually relatively common, but they just tend to live in places where people don't go, high mountain streams and the like.