And The Toughest Animal In The World Is.......

Every now and then someone will ask me either what my favorite animal is or what I think the toughest animal in the world is. Asking a naturalist this is a kin to asking a mother to pick a favorite child.   However the more I learn about this little bird the more impressed I am and it may be making the list of my top 10 coolest animals ever.

Standing a whopping 6-8 inches tall and weighing not much more than 1.5-2.4 ounces is the American dipper. 

 

 

 

This little pint sized song bird spends a lot of it time under water looking for aquatic insects.  Not just any old kind of water FAST moving water.  (Think of a human trying to stand up in some super heavy whitewater while trying to grab a cheeseburger off the bottom.)  To accomplish this herculean feat they have mighty long toes with some sizable toenails which allow them to grip rocks and pebbles underneath the water allowing them to walk along the bottom.  They  also have their own built in goggles called a nictating membrane which helps to protect their eyes from floating debris. Probably the most important adaptation is the extra-large preen gland which secrets oil to help waterproof their feathers.  Dippers can often be seen standing on rocks bobbing up and down. Scientists really don’t know why they bob up and down it may help them to see well.

 

 

Also these little birds are members of the polar bear club.  Then the weather starts getting colder and the rivers and streams they feed in start to freeze to they head for warmer climates.

 

Nope they just head for the nearest free flowing steam and plunge right in for a snack! 

This might just be the toughest animal anywhere!


Dippers can often be seen standing on rocks bobbing up and down. Scientists really don’t know why they bob up and down it may help them to see well. They are well   Dippers are active in this area even in winter seeking out streams which are not frozen. anding a

EVERYONE OUTSIDE!!!!

Over the last two weeks I have been stuck indoors in what is known as seasonal training. I define this a torture and I'm sure it is against the Geneva Convention to keep people normally used to being outside confined in a small space being made to watch hour after hour of PowerPoint presentations.   So after almost two weeks of this I needed to get OUT!  After a BBQ the other night I grabbed my camera and walked about 1/4 mile away from our hotel to a field just outside the entrance to Glacier National Park. I plunked my butt in the middle of a field full of flowers and sat there watching the sunset behind the famous Lewis Thrust Overfault.

I hadn't been there more than a few minutes before a coyote on his nightly rounds stumbled apon me.  He cocked his head a little to the side and gave me this look of "what are you doing in my field?"  After a few glances he went back on his way.  The sun sank lower towards the horizon painting the sky a vibrant pink and throwing the last rays of sun onto the snowfields.

 

I sat there and watched the dying light play across the sky, suddenly becoming aware of a commotion taking place about a mile down the road. A large female moose lumbered from the willows and strolled down the street ignoring the paparazzi gathered on either side.  I glanced back to the sunset in front of me and who should appear but mister fox with a mouth full of food heading probably back to his den site.

 

 

With the chill in the air growing more intense and twilight giving way to night I strolled my way back to the lodge not realizing I was being watched from behind. As I neared the lodge a coworker shouted

 


from the third floor balcony that there was a moose behind me.  I turned and sure enough there bolting for the nearby hillside was a female moose suddenly startled by a sudden group of two legged animals in her path.

This week get outside and find a spot near a pond, in a field, or even a city park. You never know who you might see.