Meet the amazing little Water Ouzel
John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, was a world famous naturalist and tireless promoter of conservation of the Sierra Nevada. He was also an inspiring writer whose classic book “The Mountains of California” eloquently describes the special region we call home. In the book he devotes an entire chapter to his love affair with the unique little bird called the Water Ouzel (more commonly known recently as the American Dipper). You can read the entire chapter at THIS LINK. From there you can follow links to the other chapters in the book. We are sure you will enjoy the writings of this inspiring and fascinating man.
The Water Ouzel, also known as the American Dipper, is definitely the most entertaining bird of the Sierra. The fact that we have a nest each year on the inside of the south I-beam which supports the Bridge House is really special! Most years there are two babies born on the ledge of the I-beam. The babies make a loud peep when their parents come back to feed them. They will become absolutely still if they see you approaching anywhere near the nest. Nature has taught them well! While staying at the Bridge House, take a moment to look for the nest. It is usually located at about the midpoint of the I-beam. You can see it by going under the house via the north side of the master bedroom. There is a path off of the concrete patio by the master bedroom.
In the classic words of John Muir: "He is a singularly joyous and lovable little fellow, in form as smoothly plump and compact as a pebble that has been whirled in a pot-hole. He is the mountain streams' own darling, the humming-bird of blooming waters, loving rocky ripple-slopes and sheets of foam as a bee loves flowers, as a lark loves sunshine and meadows. Among all the mountain birds, none has cheered me so much in my lonely wanderings, none so unfailingly.
A bird that walks underneath the water, the water ouzel is a stocky dark grey bird with a head sometimes tinged with brown, and white feathers on the eyelids that cause the eyes to flash white as the bird blinks. As North America’s only truly aquatic songbird, the delightful little fellow flits among midstream rocks and logs, rhythmically bobbing its tail, and then disappears for long moments to forage for aquatic larvae on the stream bottom, using its wings to negotiate the current. These birds build mossy, domed nests on boulders, cliff ledges, and bridges. Their burbling song is evocative of the rushing whitewater streams this species calls home.
