Photographing White-throated Dippers in Beaufort

After photographing marmots, badgers, and various birds, and seeking in vain for deer and chamois, we decided to go with André Callewaert to photograph a bird which is almost a myth for some photographers: the white-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus.

Our guide Philippe Rigolio discovered a dipper’s nest on the bank of a small river which flowed through the village of Beaufort. The nest contained three chicks, which were being fed by the parents. Without Philippe’s help and expertise, we would have been unable to locate the nest. We hid under a green and grey tarp on the bank of the river so that the parents would not see us. Our cameras were equipped with 200-400mm lenses and 1.4 converters to increase the focal length. They were fairly heavy, so we used tripods.

The sun was shining, which made it very hot under the tarp. The open side of the nest was to the east, and the sun was gradually moving into a position where it would interfere with our photos. It was not going to be an easy session. Beside the difficulty with the sun, the dipper is a very fast bird, and the parents were trying not to show the nest to predators by sitting there too long. They were not making it easy to take photos of them.

We arranged rotations so that no one would be under the tarp too long. We each spent an hour under the tarp, then moved and let the next person in. We would each get 2 turns under the tarp. It was already very hot under there, and even if it had not been, we would have had to stop before noon, because the light would be too strong to take good pictures.

The white-throated dipper seems mythical to some people because it is very difficult to find. It only lives on the banks of fast flowing rivers in rocky and steep places. These conditions are usually found at high altitudes. A mating pair needs a stretch of riverbank over half a mile long. Because they have such large territories, dippers can be very hard to find. They feed on larvae and small fish in the water. They do not have webbed toes, but they swim very well. When hunting, a dipper will stand on a rock or branch in the middle of the river, often swinging up and down with its tail pointed up. When it spots something to eat, it slips beneath the surface of the water, grasps the bottom with its strong feet, and simply walks around underwater. Sometimes it even ‘flies,’ using its half-open wings to propel itself. After its dive, the dipper will often float down the river for a short distance before emerging. Its soft, dense plumage provides good insulation in the water. It also hunts small insects on land.

During the mating season, the male and female fly high above their territory to engage in a courtship ritual. Then, they stay together for one year. Dippers are usually seen alone or in pairs, but in winter several birds will sleep together for the night in some sheltered place, often under a bridge.

At the end of the morning, we found that our photo shoot had been successful. We each had about 200 photos. We were certain to have at least 10 good ones each. We had reached our objective. When we returned to the car, we were happy and excited. It is unusual to observe dippers feeding their young. We had had another beautiful, happy day in Beaufortain. The week we spent there was a lucky one. We knew to make the most of it. Life is beautiful.

The white-throated dipper of the river in Beaufort

Wildlife from the Beaufortain Area in the French Alps

We decided to create a series of photos of wildlife from the French Alps. To get to know the area, we enrolled in a wildlife photography safari organized by the photographer Gerard David. Another photographer, Philippe Rigolio, was our guide during the six-day trip. It is always very interesting to be accompanied by a guide in an area that we don’t know. We did not have to go hunting for sites where we could photograph various animals. Philippe knew the region well. He was a valuable guide, having worked in the region for more than twenty years. On the safari, we were accompanied by André Callewaert, a friend and fellow photographer.

We stayed in the village of Hauteluce in the Savoy department in the French Alps. Our goal was to bring back about thirty photographs of various animals. The trip only lasted six days, so we set our sights fairly low. We decided to come back in September and continue the series.

The first two days of the safari were spent reconnoitering photo sites. Philippe showed us a site for photographing birds, another for groundhogs, one for European badgers, and a huge glade where we could find foxes and deer. This phase was essential because the region is large and forested. When we came to the site of a European badger’s burrow, Philippe asked us what we saw. We were on a road through a grove of trees. We looked around, but saw nothing unusual. Then Philippe pointed out a small mound of dead wood. He explained that it was the entrance to a badger’s burrow. We could have stayed there for an hour and never guessed that an animal was hiding there. Once again we saw how helpful a guide can be in unfamiliar areas. During the reconnaissance, Philippe and Gerard explained the techniques of camouflage. We had brought our camouflage nets. Philippe lent us some gear that we had not brought because of the limited space in our luggage.

After the reconnaissance, it was time for some photography. We decided to start by photographing the groundhogs. They are not very shy, and are easy to approach. It was an excellent place to start. Our cameras were equipped with 200-400mm lenses. It was 8 o'clock in the morning. The sun had just risen and groundhogs began coming out to warm themselves at the entrances to their burrows. We chose a burrow with a female and her two pups sunning themselves at the entrance. It was a good thing that we were equipped with 200-400mm lenses, because the animals were cautious. When we came forward a yard, they backed up a yard. We moved forward slowly, on hands and knees. Our cameras were mounted on monopods. Gradually, the female groundhog got used to us and stopped moving away as steadily. After an hour of this little game, we were less than 5 yards from them, and we could finally start taking good pictures. At the end of the morning, we had taken enough pictures of the groundhogs, and we returned to the village for lunch.

For our second outing, we decided to photograph badgers. We had never seen a live badger before, even though they are quite common. We had only seen pictures of them in books. It was 5:30PM, and we set our gear up 10 yards from the entrance to the burrow. The cameras were still equipped with the 200-400mm lenses, and they were mounted on tripods for more stability. We were virtually invisible, hidden with André under our camouflage net at the foot of a huge tree. We waited for three hours, and nothing happened. We heard all sorts of forest noises, but saw nothing. We sat down after a while, and we began to get cold because the sun did not penetrate the foliage. It was 8:25 p.m. André signed to us that he wanted to leave. We asked him to stay for another 15 minutes. At 8:30, we saw a badger stick its head out of the burrow. Badgers may be common and well-known, but we were as excited as if they were the rarest animal alive. The cameras were set in burst mode. They crackled as we took our photos. We were very excited, and we made a little too much noise. The badger turned his head in our direction. We were perfectly hidden and he could not see us, but he decided not to risk coming out all the way. He returned to his burrow. We kept watching the entrance. We waited. The light was getting low. In 15 minutes it would be dark. Would the badger come out again? 5 more minutes passed. Suddenly, the badger’s head emerged from the burrow again. That time, we waited him to be completely out before we started taking pictures. We got pictures of the badger’s whole body before he walked into the forest for the night. We only had a dozen photos, but we were satisfied.

We returned to our lodging around 9:30PM. We were very happy. We had a hard time believing that we had seen and photographed a European badger. It was as if we had made the wildlife find of the century. We were cold and sore, but happy and full of adrenaline.