Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3
The very first time I saw a water ouzel, I thought I’d killed it. No kidding.
Long ago I was fishing alone in a remote area in the southwest corner of Yellowstone National Park. A medium-sized grey bird appeared very close to me, standing on a rock next to the river. He was dipping and bobbing up and down like nothing I’d ever seen before. I took a step closer to get a better look, and he bailed right off the rock into the deep, fast moving, icy-cold stream!
He disappeared completely. I don’t doubt my mouth may have dropped open as my eyes grew wide.
Oh crud. I’ve killed the poor bugger.
A few moments later, he broke through the surface like a grey cork. He hopped up on another rock, shook water off like a little duck, and started bobbing and dipping again.
I blinked and stared at him, but this time I didn’t take a step in his direction. No matter, in a few more moments he jumped back off the rock and disappeared into the swirling water again.
What in the world…
That was my introduction to yet another fascinating critter I’ve been blessed to see up close and personal whilst in the mountains. The water ouzel is indeed in a class by itself. According to the folks at Cornell Lab, the American Dipper, or water ouzel, is North America’s only truly aquatic songbird.
This bird actually walks around on the bottoms of streams looking for food. He can hold his wings out to cause the force of the water to push him down so he doesn’t get swept away in the strong current. He’s been known to flip over small rocks on the stream bottom searching for a meal. His diet consists of aquatic insects like mayflies and caddisflies, beetles, mosquitoes (yay), snails and worms, fish eggs, and even small fish. He can swim on the surface and eat floating insects carried by the current.
Even though the color of an ouzel is a bit plain compared to some other birds, I think his song is a magnificent tune expressing pure joy to be alive and surrounded by such grandeur. Whenever I hear it, I picture a cold, clear stream tumbling down a mountain. The water ouzel and cold mountain streams truly go together.
I remember learning about indicator species whilst in school. These are species which only live under rather limited conditions. The water ouzel is one of them. They usually need fast, unpolluted water to thrive. So if you see an ouzel, know you’re probably surrounded by some relatively clean and high quality water.
You can hear what an ouzel sounds like and see his bobbing behavior at these two Cornell Lab websites:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Dipper/sounds
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Dipper/videos
Sometimes I wonder how God thought of all these amazing creatures. And I’m sure I haven’t experienced one tenth of one percent of them. I don’t doubt it’s because of His great love for us. He could have created all the birds alike, but I’m glad He didn’t. The mountain streams I frequent would be a much poorer place without the amazing water ouzel bobbing about the rocky shoreline.
Thanks, God.
Hope you have a great day
My Dad pointed out my first ever Dipper when I was just a kid hiking with my family. He said they fly underwater. How can I remember that and not remember what I had for breakfast? Didn’t know they walked on the stream bottom though. I wonder if a crawdad thinks that’s just a bit unfair? Thanks for the biology lesson…and the link to the song.
It is interesting the things we remember as we grow up. I guess it’s how He wires us as we become the unique person He wants us to be. I saw a few dippers just this past week. They are so cool. Thanks for writing.