Yesterday afternoon and today I was birding with a couple from the state of Washington. Tonight she mentioned that on their way into Duluth yesterday, going north on I-35, crossing a bridge (over the St. Louis River?) she looked out at the ice and saw a North American Dipper. Being from the mountains in Washington, this didn't strike her as unusual until tonight when she was reading Kim Eckert's book. But I've spent enough time with her to know she's got a keen eye and is quite good at recognition. Unfortunately, because she didn't realize the unlikelihood of a dipper around here, she didn't pay close attention to exactly where they were when she saw it. But we should certainly be keeping a close watch. She said this bird was on the ice, and noted that she sees many dippers feeding from the ice in Washington.
Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
