A good contact for dippers is Kath Strickler, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.
Phone: (208) 885-4343 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Title: Postdoctoral Fellow Department: Fish and Wildlife Resources Office: FWR Campus Zip: 1136 --- On Thu, 6/19/08, Michelle Paddack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Michelle Paddack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Dippers To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, June 19, 2008, 11:54 AM This message is being sent on behalf of Ivy Whitehorne **************************************************** Hi Terri; I got your email via a couple colleagues at Simon Fraser, and I can definitely point you at a few dipper studies! I've been working on Dippers in the Chilliwack River watershed for the last three years, as part of work that's been ongoing there since 1999. Some good starters on Dippers and our local work are: Morrissey, 2004. Effect of altitudinal migration within a watershed on the reproductive success of american dippers. Cdn J Zool. 82(5): 800=807 Morrissey, Bendell-Young & Elliott. 2004. Seasonal trends in population density, distribution and movement of american dippers within a watershed of British Columbia, Canada. Condor. 106: 815-825 >From your questions, I'd also recommend another local paper which did some specific work on bridges and the characteristics Dippers preferred: Loegring and Anthony. 2006. Nest site selection and productivity of American Dippers in the oregon coast range. Wilson J. Ornithology. 118(3): 281-294 Personally, (and in some contrast to the Loegring and Anthony paper) I've found that Dippers will nest on pretty much any bridge that's in suitable habitat, so long as it has a level ledge of 4-12 inches wide underneath (I-beams, cross girders, etc). I haven't seen any bridges be replaced, but one bridge did get a new bridge deck (from wood to concrete), during the non-breeding season. The replacement didn't alter the beams & cross-girders below, where the dippers nested, and they've continued to use that bridge. I hope that gives you a starting point or two! Feel free to contact me if you'd like more information about our study site and/or dipper nesting observations. Cheers, Ivy Ivy Whitehorne, MSc candidate Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 778-782-3988 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
