The Weminuche Audubon Society will be hosting a gathering at the Community United Methodist Church on Lewis Street at 3pm tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19.
We will highlight our local American Dipper Project that has been monitoring American dipper nesting successes starting in 2021 in support of the American Dipper Project that was initiated in Durango in 2016 as a mechanism to evaluate mountain stream health following the Gold King Mine spill in the Animas River of 2015.
The American dipper is a unique species of bird that can swim in and walk on the bottom of fast-flowing mountain streams to harvest aquatic insects, crustaceans and even small fish. Their nesting success is a good indicator of stream health.
Their feathers are very dense and water repellent, so when they emerge on rocks above the water, the water beads up and falls off their backs immediately so they appear completely dry. Dippers usually nest on inaccessible cliffs above the streams or on girders under bridges — typically above the center of the stream. Nests have been monitored on the Piedra River, the East Fork and West Fork of the San Juan River, and even along the San Juan Riverwalk.
New nest discoveries in other locations are always welcome. Monitoring here begins in May (or when the appropriate national forest roads open) and continues through the middle of July as some nests produce two broods each season.
Volunteers should be able to drive or walk to the nesting sites and be able to spend 20-30 minutes there watching the nests and observing adult bird activities in the vicinity. The most important observations to obtain are the number of nestlings and when they leave the nest (fledge).
No real birding expertise is required, just good observational skills. Binoculars and a camera aren’t necessary, but are very helpful. Multiple volunteers might be observing each nest at different times, but we’d like for each person to visit a nest at least once or twice a week. It is rewarding and relaxing to spy on these birds.
Observations will be combined and submitted to the Cornell Lab Nestwatch program.
Learn more under the Projects tab at weminucheaudubon.org and send questions to roendres2015@gmail.com